The governments of Mozambique and Malawi recently concluded the consultation process under the Simplified Trade Regime (STR) Agreement, covering the borders of Zóbuè, Calómue, Mandimba and Melosa, with a view to facilitating cross-border trade and transportation between the two countries..

In a NewsThe Director of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Claire Zimba, explained that delegations from the two countries held the third round of negotiations last month.

The meeting, according to Claire Zimba, aimed to discuss the remaining clauses of the agreement, review the proposal for a common list of products, simplified customs document and threshold value of the simplified regime.

"During the meeting, Mozambique also shared the counter-proposal for the list of products that formed the basis of the negotiations, where the staff of the two countries agreed on one thousand US dollars as the threshold value. However, it was stressed that a progressive approach would be followed, subject to the lessons of implementing the CSR, which means that the threshold value is subject to change," added Claire Zimba.

According to the source, the parties agreed that the simplified customs document to be used in the pilot phase would be adjusted based on its effectiveness in implementing CSR.

To this end, as subsequent steps, the governments defended the need for a technical-legal review of the agreement and its translation into Portuguese, which should be immediately submitted to the legal authorities of both countries in preparation for the harmonization session scheduled for next week in Tete province.

Zimba also explained that Malawi is expected to share the results of the legal consultations, a document which, once harmonized, should be signed by the end of this year by the ministers responsible for industry and trade in both countries.

Financed by the World Bank Group to the tune of 150 million dollars, equivalent to 9.4 billion meticais, simplified cross-border trade is the result of a six-year bilateral effort aimed at strengthening the reforms needed to boost trade between Mozambique and Malawi.

In Mozambique, the implementation of this agreement could result in substantial improvements in infrastructure and procedures along the main transport corridors, facilitating access to the regional and global market.

(Photo DR)