Ahead of Malawi President Dr Lazarus Chakwera’s official two-day working visit to Zimbabwe from Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Eisenhower Mkaka has set the ball rolling by holding business talks with private investors based in Zimbabwe.

On Monday Mkaka visited one of Zimbabwe’s real estate companies Homelux where he held talks with its group managing director Justin Machibaya.

The Minister said: “Malawi recognises that trade and investment are key drivers for economic growth development hence prioritizing the creation of a conducive environment for businesses. This is being implemented with the passing of over 40 pieces of legislation to streamline and enable the business environment.

Mkaka added that Malawi is establishing solid institutional foundations to safeguard investments.

He said the country will not tolerate corruption, nor interfere with the affairs of institutions that fight against corruption.

In his remarks, Machibaya said his company has business interests in Malawi in areas such as real estate, agriculture and recreational facilities.

“We believe Malawi has a lot of potential. Our area of interest will be to do with real estate and property development. We saw a lot of potential in the development of cluster housing, apartments and student accomodation,” he said.

He added: “We also saw a lot of potential in agriculture which has always remained a significant backbone of Malawian economy as an agriculture nation”.

Later the Minister was taken on a tour of some of Homelux’s establishments to sample the company’s businesses.-MBC. –Story and pictures by Peter Makawa in Harare, Zimbabwe.