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Misanet.com / afrol.com, 19 November - The regional Growth Triangle Concept took off in style as the three countries involved in the first initiative of its kind in Africa endorsed the formal establishment of the Zambia-Malawi-Mozambique Growth Triangle this week. The model is the Asian Tiger's economies of South-East Asia. Government and business executives, the diplomatic corps and representatives of international financial houses ended their 3 days of deliberations at the Capital Hotel in Lilongwe (Malawi). They were united in Lilongwe at an Inception Meeting of the Zambia-Malawi-Mozambique Growth Triangle (ZMM-GT) with calls for undivided political will and commitment for the concept to fully succeed. The three countries are among the poorest in the Southern African region, lagging significantly behind the success stories of Botswana and Namibia. On the other hand, Malawi and Mozambique "lost" decades of development opportunities due to the autocratic Banda-dictatorship in Malawi and the liberation and civil war in Mozambique. The three countries, which have a long history of economic cooperation, hope to sparkle the same economic boom as has happened in Mozambique the last years in the entire region. The Malawian Vice President Justin Malewezi in his key note address to the Lilongwe Meeting said that Africa could claim this era as the African Millennium only if members of countries started to own their own development initiatives. - The challenge that the partners in the initiative have is to create wealth so as to eradicate poverty in the three countries by creating new jobs and encouraging an environment that would bring some benefit to the rural masses, he stated. Peter Kaleso, the new Malawian Minister of Commerce and Industry said the Growth Triangle would enhance cross-border trade and investment among the three countries. According to The Nation, Kaleso said the zone holds growth potential and investment opportunities in sectors such as tourism, mining, information technology, agro-processing and fisheries. "We remain convinced that the success story [of South-East Asia] is a living testimony of what can be achieved with determination and hard work," he said. All that will be needed to ensure success of the initiative is for the public and private sectors to work together to unlock the potential of the peoples of the three nations. Apart from acting as a window of investment opportunities the Growth Triangle would cement cultural ties among the people within the growth area. A Zambian representative, who presented the country's position on behalf of the deputy minister of trade and commerce said it was the wish of Zambia that the concept helped to eradicate poverty in the three countries by creating jobs and wealth, according to The Nation. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative in Malawi Zahra Nuru and her counterpart in Zambia who is really the architect of the Growth Triangle initiative Olubanke King-Akerele have worked tirelessly to ensure the ZMM-GT became a reality that ensures economic integration of the northern parts of Zambia, northern and central parts of Malawi and some central-eastern parts of Mozambique which would complement existing development concepts such as the Mtwara and Nacala development corridors. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative Zahra Nuru said the growth triangle, which covers northern parts of Zambia, northern and central of Malawi and some central-eastern parts of Mozambique, would complement existing development concepts such as the Mtwara and Nacala development corridors. For the initiative to bear fruits, Nuru said, member states will require to have occasional ministerial meetings, public and private sector cooperation and collaboration at senior government level, according to The Nation. At the end of the 3 days of discussion a Letter of Intent was signed which outlined the willingness of the three countries to enter into a mutually beneficial partnership for all the peoples. The next step is for the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding between Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique that will herald a new era of globalisation and prosperity, especially for the rural masses. Source: Based on article in The Chronicle, supplemented with information from The Nation (Malawi)
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