His Excellency Dr Thomas Bisika, the Malawi High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland, had the honour of presenting his letters of credence to the President of the Republic of Ireland, His Excellency Michael D. Higgins, at Áras an Uachtaráin in Dublin on Tuesday, November 28, 2023.

The ceremony was graced by the presence of other distinguished officials from the Irish government and the Malawi High Commission.

The Malawi High Commissioner conveyed the cordial greetings and sincere wishes from His Excellency Dr Lazarus Chakwera, the president of the Republic of Malawi, and expressed his eagerness to enhance the bilateral relations and cooperation between the two friendly countries.

The Irish president warmly welcomed the Malawi High Commissioner and commended him on his appointment. He also reiterated the solid friendship and partnership between Ireland and Malawi, which has a long history since the 1960s when Irish missionaries and volunteers began working in Malawi.

The two leaders discussed various areas of common interest, such as trade and investment, education and health, agriculture and food security, climate change and renewable energy, peace and security, and human rights and democracy. They also shared their perspectives on the regional and global issues affecting their respective continents.

The Malawi High Commissioner expressed his gratitude to the Irish president for the hospitable reception and the generous support that Ireland has extended to Malawi over the years, especially in the sectors of health, education, and social protection. He also extended an invitation to the Irish president to visit Malawi at his earliest convenience.

The Malawi Tourism Investment Forum will be held in London, United Kingdom on 3^rd November, 2023 at the InterContinental London Park Lane. The Forum has been organised by the Malawi Ministry of Tourism in conjunction with the Malawi High Commission to the United Kingdom and will be hosted by the Minister of Tourism Honorable Vera Kamtukule.

The main objective of the Forum is to create awareness and generate interest on the available opportunities for investment in the Tourism and Travel sector in Malawi. Specifically, the event is aimed at achieving the following objectives:

1. To promote priority tourism investment projects in the National Tourism Investment Masterplan
2. To promote Malawi as a tourism investment destination
3. To service tourism investment enquiries 

It is expected that the event will generate the desired interest for investment in Malawi in the medium to long term.

According to the Malawi High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Thomas Bisika, the Forum will not only assist to create awareness of the investment opportunities in the Tourism sector but also reposition Malawi as a preferred investment destination.

On 10^th July, 2023, His Excellency Dr. Thomas Bisika, Malawi’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, presented Letters of Credence to Mr. Kitack Lim, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Malawi joined IMO in 1989. Despite becoming an IMO member for such a long time, no Malawi diplomatic mission was officially accredited to the organisation. Dr Bisika is, therefore, the first Malawi High Commissioner to present Letters of Credence to IMO, a process which also makes the Malawi High Commission in London serve as the Malawi Permanent Mission to IMO with a fully accredited Permanent Representative.

Mr. Lim welcomed Malawi to the IMO family and acknowledged that this was the first time that the Government of Malawi had presented Letters of Credence to IMO. He highlighted a recently concluded IMO’s 80^th Session of Maritime Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC 80), during which the 2023 IMO Strategy for Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction was adopted, which is a blueprint for IMO Member States to address climate change from the maritime sector. He also observed that carbon pricing was key towards unlocking the finance that Malawi can tap into.

In his remarks, Dr. Bisika conveyed greetings from His Excellency Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, and expressed appreciation for IMO’s support, which included technical, financial and capacity building, even before the submission of Letters of Credence. Dr. Bisika expressed the readiness of the Government of Malawi to deepen cooperation with IMO in areas of capacity building, climate change, maritime legislation and water transport. He then invited Mr. Lim, who is due to retire in December, 2023, to visit Malawi before his retirement.