Malawi is a landlocked country located in southeastern Africa. It is bordered in the North and North-East by Tanzania, on the east, south and southwest by Mozambique and to the west by Zambia. The country lies within the Great African Rift Valley system. A democratic nation with people-elected government, it has an open, liberal and lightly regulated economy from its very basis and is very much investor friendly. It has participated in recently held Vibrant Gujarat in India and has signed its shares of MoUs with the chamber of commerce of Gujarat Province. One of the most densely populated country of Africa, it has very good trade relations with its neighbouring countries besides being the member of prominent overseas trade bodies like SADC, COMESA and also of WTO. Malawi government's new medium-term development strategy is built around the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy. This strategy fully recognises that creating a healthy enabling environment for private sector development is a pre-requisite for sustainable economic and social development. At the implementation level, working closely with stakeholders in the private sector, Malawi's Ministry of Industry & Trade is leading efforts to implement a National Export Strategy and a Private Sector Development Strategy. The National Export Strategy aims at highlighting export issues as development issues and target improved export volumes and value addition in six key sub-sectors: namely, cotton and textiles , food and agro-processing, handicrafts, tourism and mining. Trade in Malawi is fundamentally liberalised with import and export licences only required for very few products that have a bearing on security, health and food security. The Malawi government recognises the important role Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plays in the economic growth and development of any country. In the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy, the need to create an enabling environment for attracting FDI has been highlighted in an effort to stimulate private sector driven growth and poverty reduction. The Ministry of Trade and Private Sector Development in collaboration with other trade and investment related institutions attaches the highest importance to ensuring that an environment is set for the effective operation of the private sector through the provision of proper infrastructures, tax incentives and market access. To this end the Malawi Investment Promotion Agency - MIPA was established in 1991 with a mandate to promote, attract, encourage and support investment in Malawi. Through MIPA, investors can access both general incentives and export incentives, including Export Processing Zones -EPZ status. MIPA acts as Malawi's "one-stop-shop" for investment and aims at providing the highest quality of services to those seeking to invest in Malawi. Furthermore, Malawi has a stable political environment. A friendly, kind and well trained hard working English speaking people and a liberalised economy where companies can operate and access opportunities without government interference. Actually, government policy in this country aims to facilitate, rather than regulate private investment.

TOURISM Malawi is 'the warm heart of Africa', or 'Africa for beginners'; and its lake 'the lake of stars'. It all seems too good to be true, but, with stunning and varied scenery and supremely friendly locals, along with the relative ease of travel here, Malawi really does live up to the hype.Evergreen forests and waterfalls can be viewed from the heights of the plateaus. The national parks are attractive places for wildlife and game viewing in the most unspoilt of settings. Safe from the tarred roads and convoys of tourists, visitors can trek in entirely natural surroundings.Malawi has nine national parks and wildlife reserves, six of which are especially recommended for visitors. There are also many attractive and accessible forest reserves. All the parks and reserves are uncrowded and give visitors an excellent experience of unspoilt wilderness.Some of Malawi's prominent attractions are: Chongoni Rock Art Area A Unesco World Heritage Site of Malawi, Chongoni rock art area is situated within a cluster of forested granite hills and covering an area of 126.4 km2, high up the plateau of central Malawi, the 127 sites of this area feature the richest concentration of rock art in Central Africa. They reflect the comparatively scarce tradition of farmer rock art, as well as paintings by BaTwa hunter-gatherers who inhabited the area from the late Stone Age. The Chewa agriculturalists, whose ancestors lived there from the late Iron Age, practised rock painting until well into the 20th century. The symbols in the rock art, which are strongly associated with women, still have cultural relevance amongst the Chewa, and the sites are actively associated with ceremonies and rituals. Lake Malawi Another Unesco World Heritage Site and the biggest draw of the country is the lake: It is a magnificent shard of crystal water stretching some 500km along Malawi's eastern border, separating it from the wild and mountainous coast of Mozambique and Tanzania. Isolated villages pepper the northern lakeshore and the beautiful Liwonde National Park rests at its southern tip. Around 500 species of fish inhabit the lake and the freshwater diving and snorkelling here are excellent. It is also home to varieties of eagle and kingfisher. Take time to explore the highland wilderness, dive and swim in the lake's warm waters, or simply soak up the vibrant local flavour and you're sure to find yourself seduced. Malawi's not just for water babies and sun worshippers though; there's plenty here to keep you active and Malawi's landscape is surprisingly diverse. Head for the misty heights of Mount Mulanje or to the Nyika National Park, where you'll find sheer escarpments, dramatic peaks, endless rolling grassland and some of the most enjoyable hiking routes in the whole of Africa. Just about every visitor to Malawi will visit the lake which is regarded as a truly tropical paradise and it is not difficult to see why with the spectacular surrounding scenery, miles of golden beaches lining the shores of the lake and the crystal clear water. From north to south there are numerous places to stay of great variety of accommodation that suit most peoples taste and budget. The Lake has become a playground for tourists worldwide. The lake is ideal for watersports, sailing or just relaxing in the sun. There are many attractive sections of the lake on its various directions. Koronga is the main town in the far northern part of the lake and is the entry and exit point for those travelling to and from Tanzania and Northern Zambia. It is also the only place north of Mzuzu with a bank. The lakeshore stretch from Karonga, travelling south to Chiweta has probably the most dramatic scenery of all the lake with immense mountains rising to each side. The area has not seen much tourist development to date although recently many establishments offering accommodation are being built. The main road in the area, although sealed, is extremely pot-holed and slow going.

Nyika National Park
Nyika National Park encompasses the majority of the Nyika Plateau area in the Northern Region. It is the largest-covering an area of over 3,000 sq. km, and highest- heights averaging 1,800m of Malawi's parks bordering Zambia on the western side. The Nyika is covered in moor-like, treeless grasslands, endless rolling hills, occasionally interrupted by pockets of evergreen forest in the ravines and valleys. There are numerous waterfalls on rivers flowing off the high plateau. A relaxing distraction from the bustling world, The area is passable most of the year round but is best visited during the rainy season. November to May is the best time for game viewing, October to December for bird watching, whilst January and February are the best months to visit to experience the spectacular flowering of indigenous orchids.
The plateau is remote, wild and beautiful providing dramatic scenery and panoramic views, especially to the north. The Nyika National Park is home to large herds of zebra, eland, roan antelope, sable antelope, lichtenstein's hartebeest, kudu reedbuck, bushbuck, duiker, and warthog. It houses the largest concentration of leopard in the country. The nocturnal family of wild animals include hyena, jackal, civet cat, honey badger, porcupine and aardvark. More than 300 bird species have been recorded in the Nyika Plateau, including the Den Ham's bustard, the malachite sunbird and red winged francolin all found in the grassland area, whilst the cinnamon dove, bartailed trogon and starred robin are found high in the forest canopy. It also contains three butterfly species and one species each of chameleon , frog and toad which are found nowhere else. The rivers and dams are stocked with rainbow trout, trout fishing being a very popular pastime here. Fishing permits must be arranged at head office at Chilinda and can be obtained all year round. The gamepark entrance is situated 129km from Mzuzu and 68km from Rumphi. Drive west from Rumphi for approx. 60km and take a right turn towards the gate. There is a daily entrance fee payable at the gate.
SOCCER WORLD CUP
World football cup 2010 is going to be held in South Africa and that is set to be beneficial for the nation to a great extent, particularly if international football authorities- FIFA approve a plan presented by South Africa to allow visiting teams to use neighbouring countries as their bases. The event has already created a lot of interest in southern Africa. Local tourism and government authorities are looking forward to promoting Malawi as a tourism destination, taking full advantage of all entrepreneurial activities being developed around the event and improving the overall quality of tourism facilities available.
Great variety of tourism in this African nation has not been given due respect by the foreign visitors. Many travellers only pass through Malawi for a couple of days, intent on racing through to Africa's so-called more famous attractions. This is very unfair on their part as the country has much to offer them. Malawi can offer unique scenery, rare wildlife and stunning valleys apart from one of the most beautiful lake of the world. Just come and see for yourself.