Vice President Michael Usi concludes Turkmenistan visit, highlights port access, climate resilience
Vice President Michael Usi has concluded his official visit to Awaza, Turkmenistan, where he participated in the third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3).
Having completed his tasks in the resort town, Usi departed Awaza through the Awaza International Airport en route to the capital city, Ashgabat.
During his time at the conference, Vice President Usi engaged in a series of high-level meetings and brokered several bilateral relationships with various countries and development partners.
Reflecting on his engagements, Usi highlighted two key issues that stood out prominently: access to ports and the need for proactive climate change resilience.
He emphasised that discussions around port access should not be left solely to the landlocked and coastal countries involved.
Usi argued that other countries and international actors should play an active role in facilitating solutions that ensure quicker and more equitable access to ports for landlocked states.
“Even other countries that can come between to ensure that the issues are expedited, because whatever happens between the member states that do not have the ports and those that have, creates a massive impact on the economy of landlocked countries,” said Usi.
Turning to climate change, the Vice President stressed the importance of shifting focus from reactive disaster response to long-term investment in resilience.
He warned that responding only after disasters strike is not sustainable and that Africa, in particular, must prioritise building systems that reduce vulnerability.
“That is not going to help Africa. If we are going to help vulnerable countries, there is a need for local governments as well as international organisations to ensure that resilience is funded sufficiently so that we reduce the risks of disasters in Malawi and many other countries,” he said.
Usi described his visit to Awaza as successful, noting that one of the highlights was his meeting with the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedow.
During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the potential for cooperation in the areas of education and digitalisation.
This bilateral engagement follows another important milestone where Malawi, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed a protocol on political consultations with Turkmenistan.
On Wednesday, Usi co-chaired a key roundtable session titled “Enhancing Adaptive Capacity, Strengthening Resilience and Addressing Vulnerability to Climate Change and Disasters in Landlocked Developing Countries.”
Throughout the conference, the Vice President also held several bilateral meetings and actively contributed to LLDC3 discussions.
He is expected to return to Malawi on Friday.
