Vice President Saulos Chilima has asked economists in the country to come up with solutions in order to deal with the economic challenges facing the country.
Chilima said this during the opening of a two- day Economic Association of Malawi (ECAMA) annual economic conference at Sunbird Nkopola Lodge.
The vice president indicated that the country has faced different challenges such as commodity price fluctuations, health crises, adverse weather conditions and many more, hence the need for solutions to such challenges.
He noted that the 2023 Tropical Cyclone Freddy post-disaster needs assessment report shows that the total damages caused by Cyclone Freddy are estimated at US$ 0.5 billion while total recovery for physical needs will require US$ 0.68 billion.
“The 2022 World Bank Country Climate and Development Report estimates that without significant investments in adaptation, the impacts of climate change will lead to GDP losses of 3 to 9 percent in 2030 and 6 to 20 percent in 2040.
“Therefore, this conference should be a platform for in-depth policy-relevant discussion on innovative strategies aimed at fostering sustainable growth,” he said.
In her remarks, President for ECAMA Lauren Nyasulu emphasised the need for the country to focus on investing in production, to ensure that the country can export more.
“For us to improve our economy amidst the shocks, we need to focus on building resilience to shocks, by among others restructuring our economy base through investing in production.
“However, we also need to provide robust market structures for our products both internally and externally,” she said.
