At the LLDC3 Side Event on 7 August 2025 in Turkmenistan, Mr. Adwell Zembele, Director of Economic Planning at Malawi’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, outlined how Malawi is implementing its Integrated National Financing Strategy to realize the Malawi 2063 vision of self-sufficiency. The strategy integrates the SDGs, AU Agenda 2063, and other frameworks into 10-year implementation plans. Current priorities include agricultural productivity, industrialization, tourism, and leveraging mineral resources such as uranium and bauxite. The INFS ensures financing is aligned with Malawi’s long-term development needs and national vision.
The full transcript of the speech is attached below (with edits for clarity):
Thank you very much, Madam Moderator. Just to agree with the previous speaker, as we are developing the Integrated National Financing Strategy (INFS), we look at the country’s priorities. And of course, in the case of Malawi, just as in other countries, we look at the Sustainable Development Goals.
At the continental level, we are looking at the African Union Agenda 2063, and then, at the national level, we have a long-term plan for the country, called Malawi 2063. The idea is that by 2063, Malawi should be self-sufficient, able to take care of our development needs. In other words, we should be self-sustaining. That's the vision.
As you can imagine, we are talking about a vision that spans to 2063. So it looks far-fetched during the planning period. But we have developed an implementation plan for that vision, in which case we are talking of 10-year implementation plans. Right now, we are in the first phase of implementing such a 10-year implementation plan.
When we talk about the Integrated National Financing Framework now, we are looking at the development priorities that we have identified. Mind you, we have mainstreamed the global, continental, and regional frameworks into the implementation plan for Malawi 2063. The Integrated National Financing Framework or Strategy speaks to the key priorities of our 10-year implementation plan.
For example, we are talking about improving agricultural productivity. We are also talking about achieving industrialization as a country. Tourism is seen as a low-hanging fruit. Malawi has also been discovering a number of mineral resources. One that we recently identified is uranium. We are making sure that we leverage the local minerals that we have. Of course, we have other minerals as well, for example, bauxite.
As a country, we ask: "We have development needs. How do we align financing with the development needs of the country?" It is in this aspect that the INFF is meant to respond to the development needs highlighted in the National Development Framework.
In short, that is the starting point—because you need to ensure that the framework is responding to the needs of the country. That's the starting point. That's what I wanted to share. Happy to be here.