Malawi and its neighbouring Mozambique have signed a bilateral Petroleum and Related Products Agreement which is expected to enhance the access to electricity to Malawians as well as significantly reducing the landing cost of fuel in Malawi.

The agreement was signed in Maputo earlier this afternoon soon after the visiting Malawi President, Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera held bilateral talks in camera with his Mozambican counterpart Filipe Nyusi.

Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola signed the deal on behalf of Malawi Government as the two presidents keenly watched.

The signed pact comes barely three weeks after a trainload of diesel fuel had arrived in Malawi for the first time in 21 years, following a newly refurbished rail from the Indian Ocean Port of Nacala by the Chakwera-led government.

Meanwhile, President Chakwera has described the signing of the Petroleum agreement and also his visit to Mozambique as "pleasant, memorable and successful," stressing that it will help reduce pump prices while also helping increase access to electricity across the country.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) Chief Executive Officer Clement Kanyama said the signed fuel agreement will help in lowering the landing cost of fuel in Malawi in the long-run

"Nacala to Lilongwe is just 36 hours, and the same volume from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) takes four to five days which means that with the agreement in place, we can now save more money as we will have more fuel flowing into the country by rail," he said

Malawi is currently consuming 51 million liters a month, but has a storage capacity of 60 million litres lasting for 35 days cover (for NOCMA facilities) and 92 million storage capacity if Oil Marketing Companies are included.