Visiting Iceland Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson has tipped Malawi to invest in human capital, and education and ensure equal opportunities to both men and women if the country is to realize her development aspirations.
The Prime Minister has also urged Malawi to ensure many women are participating in the labour market arguing these are some of the key pillars that helped the once poorest country in Western Europe to become a developed nation.
He was speaking this evening at the Kamuzu Palace during a State Banquet President Lazarus Chakwera has organized in honor of the Iceland Prime Minister.
In his remarks, President Chakwera hailed Benediktsson for accepting his invitation to visit Malawi, becoming the first Prime Minister of Iceland to visit this country.
We must invest more in education because education is the foundation of any functioning society: It prepares people to live cohesively in a community, participate politically, and contribute economically. Investing in education has individual, country-level, and global benefits.
He has also thanked the Iceland government for its approach to development support which he said comes through the bilateral framework. Earlier today, Chakwera and the Prime Minister presided over the opening of the African Population Conference in the same Capital.
Human capital allows an economy to grow. When human capital increases in areas such as science, education, and management, it leads to increases in innovation, social well-being, equality, increased productivity, and improved rates of participation, all of which contribute to economic growth.
Investing in gender equality and women’s empowerment is not only more urgent than ever but also an incredibly smart investment to generate economic growth, food security, income opportunities, and better lives, particularly in rural areas where most of the world’s poorest live.
