France and Malawi

Political relations

France’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe is also accredited to the authorities of Malawi.

French presence

The French community in Malawi is made up of around 60 nationals. The Malawian community in France counts around 20.

Visits and meetings

President Bingu wa Mutharika participated in the Africa-France Summits of 2005, 2007 and 2010. At the 2013 Summit, Malawi was represented by the country’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. In November 2020, President Chakwera travelled to France for the Paris Peace Forum.

Economic relations

Economic relations between France and Malawi are limited and have fallen sharply (€14 million in trade in 2017, as against €57 million in 2014). France had a trade surplus with Malawi of €9 million in 2017, having had a deficit of €2 million in 2015. France’s exports (€12 million in 2017, compared to €44 million in 2014) are mainly made up of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics (73%) and mechanical equipment (22%). France imports cereals, sugar and manufactured tobacco. Several French companies are present in Malawi. Lafarge, Total, CFAO, CMA-CGM, Bolloré Logistics, AGS, SDV.

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

French assistance to Malawi flows through multilateral channels (France is the second-largest contributor to the European Development Fund and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria), and is financing, by means of a debt relief and development contract signed in 2011, a cartographic inventory of the country’s mining resources (GEMMAP) entrusted to the French geological survey (BRGM) in 2016 in consortium with the geological services of South Africa (GTS) and Finland (GTK). Malawi has identified the mining sector as a pillar of its future growth. The cultural cooperation sector is becoming stronger and a support project for French-language teaching is underway, which is mainly focused on training Malawian teachers.

Several projects are also being carried out to support civil society, including in the fight against early pregnancies.

^{Updated: June 2022}