A delegation of Tanzanian and Malawian officials is expected to travel to Mozambique today to deliver a mediation request to former Mozambican President Joachim Chissano on the Lake Nyasa border dispute.
The two countries co-wrote a letter last month requesting the intervention of the former heads of state of Southern African Development Community(SADC).
Malawi’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ephraim Chiume told media that “Having failed to reach a consensus, we are leaving the matter in the hands of the former heads of state of SADC countries to help mediate.”
The decision to involve an independent third party in the Lake Nyasa border dispute comes after Dar es Salaam and Lilongwe failed to reach an agreement at a meeting held on November 16 and 17.
During the meeting in Dar es Salaam, both Mr Membe and Mr Chiume agreed that the Africa Forum of Former Heads of State (Africa Forum) was the right organisation to mediate the Lake Nyasa border dispute.
In a joint statement, they said they planned to ask Mr Chissano, the Heads of State Forum chairman, to step in and help avert a diplomatic crisis.
At the heart of the border dispute is Malawi’s claim that it owns all of the northern part of Lake Nyasa in accordance with the Heligoland Treaty of 1890 between former colonial masters German and Britain.
Dar es Salaam says the Heligoland Treaty is flawed as international laws say borders involving water bodies should be in the middle.
The dispute first surfaced in the 1960s after the two countries gained independence.
It came up again this year after Malawi gave the British firm Surestream exploration rights for oil in the lake.
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