'Zimbabwe and Malawi are eternal brothers'

Malawi and Zimbabwe remain united as "brotherly countries" that continue to cooperate on regional and global platforms, including Harare's bid for a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seat, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera said on Thursday.

President Chakwera arrived in Zimbabwe to participate in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) Conference, hosted by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The two leaders held a private bilateral meeting and shared lunch on the sidelines of the event.

Speaking to the media after the closed-door discussions, President Chakwera reaffirmed the strength of ties between Lilongwe and Harare, emphasizing mutual support at both regional and international levels.

"Zimbabwe is also running for offices, we co-operate on international levels as well, so we talked about all of this at the UN and so forth," he said. "Zimbabwe is my brother, I am Zimbabwe's brother, and you can take it from there."

Chakwera expressed his appreciation for Zimbabwe's warm hospitality and highlighted the significance of his visit since Mnangagwa assumed the SADC Chairmanship.

"I was expressing my gratitude for the hospitality and the fact that since he became SADC Chair, I haven't been back, and this was a privilege for me and an honour to be here," he said.

On the subject of the TFCAs, the Malawian leader underscored their importance in promoting regional cooperation on conservation. He called for stronger cross-border collaboration in preserving the environment, stating that colonial-era boundaries should not hinder joint efforts.

"The collaboration, the working together across nations in order for us to conserve what God has given us is something that does need collaboration, because the artificial boundaries that were created and imposed upon us are, as I just said, artificial really," he noted.

President Chakwera stressed the need for youth involvement in conservation efforts, warning that high-level agreements would remain meaningless if not embraced by the broader population.

"We need young people's involvement because agreements and protocols that nations make are not sufficient in themselves if the grassroots do not embrace the same," he said. "On this continent, the most population is youthful, they need to be the ones to embrace these things so that they are not just agreements on paper, they are things that they work out, and the future is bright."

Zimbabwe and Malawi have long enjoyed cordial diplomatic and historical ties, with both countries often aligned in SADC and African Union initiatives. Chakwera's support for Zimbabwe's UNSC aspirations further cements that relationship, at a time when Harare is actively seeking greater representation on global platforms.