A/S FRAZER'S SEPT 23 MEETING WITH MALAWI PRESIDENT MUTHARIKA

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 104947


E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MI ZI
SUBJECT: A/S FRAZER'S SEPT 23 MEETING WITH MALAWI PRESIDENT MUTHARIKA

Classified By: A/S Frazer for Reason 1.4 (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: AF Assistant Secretary Jendayi E. Frazer met
with Malawi President Bingu wa Muthariaka September 23 on the
margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Matharika discussed Malawi,s success in increasing its food
capacity, which allowed it to become a net food exporter. He
said private investment in agriculture was welcome. On the
upcoming elections, Mutharika said he felt international
observers should be invited three months prior to election
day and that if any rigging takes place, the opposition
parties would be responsible. Mutharika said he hopes new
Presidential elections would be held soon in Zimbabwe,
preferably within two years. Finally, Mutharika called
Malawi a success story in the fight against HIV/AIDS. END
SUMMARY


2. (C) A/S Frazer met with Malawi President Mutharika
September 23 on the margins of the UNGA and discussed the
issues described below.


3. (C) Food Crisis and Fuel Prices: A/S Frazer asked
Mutharika how the global food crisis and rising fuel prices
had impacted Malawi. Mutharika described GOM,s food subsidy
program, which aims to develop capacity to allow farmers to
move beyond subsistence agriculture. He noted fertilization
and seed improvement distribution programs had drastically
increased yields and he called the results from such programs
"spectacular8. He added the success in agriculture helped
mitigate to some degree the negative impact of rising fuel
prices on Malawi. Malawi is now able to export maize despite
having been a net food importer as recently as 2004. He said
Malawi now has even donated food to some of its neighbors.
The GOM is making an effort to build stocks, hoping to have
200,000 metric tons of maize available soon. Mutharika also
asked for assistance from the international community to
further develop Malawi,s agriculture capacity and said
private investment in that sector was welcome.


4. (C) Elections: A/S Frazer pressed Mutharika on GOM efforts
to ensure free and fair elections in Malawi in 2009.
Mutharika said the GOM is working hard to ensure the
elections are free and fair and he wants a complete and
thorough international observer program. He said his plan
was to invite international observers to arrive three months
prior to election day. He feels such an observer program is
the only way to obviate efforts by the opposition to either
rig the elections or muddle the result by claiming Mutharika
or his Democratic Progress Party had rigged them.


5. (C) Zimbabwe: Mutharika expressed hope that implementation
of the power-sharing agreement in Zimbabwe would lead to new
Presidential elections within two years. He feels holding
new Presidential elections sooner would allow for the
situation to &settle down8 and would offer hope to the
Zimbabwe population that the country could move beyond its
recent crises, political and social divisions.


6. (C) HIV/AIDS and Health Infrastructure: Mutharika said he
feels Malawi is a &success story8 in the fight against
HIV/AIDS and he thanked the USG for our support.
Anti-retroviral treatment (ARV) use had increased from 3,000
cases in 2004 to more than 150,000 in 2008. He added testing
was increasing including among young people, and the GOM was
hoping to extend the successes achieved thus far. He
revealed that he had been tested to lead Malawians to know
their status.


RICE