Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera’s 43rd foreign trip is hanging as the Arab-Africa summit has been postponed.
Saudi Arabia has suddenly postponed the 5th Arab-African Summit, which was scheduled for the coming weekend due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Palestine’s Gaza Strip.
In a statement, The Maravi Post has seen, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the postponement was made in coordination with the Secretariats of the Arab League and the African Union Commission to ensure that political events in the Middle East do not affect the Arab-African partnership and a new date will be scheduled later.
Instead, Riyadh will host an Arab League Emergency Summit on the same day involving the bloc’s Foreign ministers to discuss the Israel-Hamas war.
The war has killed over 11,000 people and wounded thousands more since October 7 this year as the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
President Lazarus Chakwera was due to depart the country today, November 8, to attend the summit in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on November 11 alongside other African Heads of State and Government.
A notice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued yesterday said Chakwera was expected to depart Kamuzu International Airport this afternoon for Riyadh before proceeding to Egypt for the Third Intra-African Trade Fair on November 13th.
The government is yet to comment on Chakwera’s program following this postponement.
Chakwera was scheduled to fly with 75 entourage for his 43 foreign trips in three years.