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The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Malawi to the United Nations in New York, H.E. Dr. Agnes Chimbiri, on 8 July 2025 joined global stakeholders in New York at a high-level side event titled “Closing the Gaps: Advancing Cyber Resilience in Least Developed Countries and Other Developing Countries”, held on the margins of the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on the security of and in the use of ICTs.
The event, co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of the Czech Republic and the State of Qatar to the United Nations, brought together key actors from government, international organizations, and technical communities to highlight strategies for strengthening cyber resilience in developing contexts, particularly in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Speaking on behalf of Malawi during a session on beneficiary perspectives, Her Excellency Dr. Agnes Chimbiri shared Malawi’s ongoing efforts in strengthening its cybersecurity posture through the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) and the Malawi Computer Emergency Response Team (mwCERT). She highlighted the importance of the collaboration between Malawi and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), particularly under the Cyber for Good initiative, which has significantly supported the country’s capacity development and incident response readiness.
“This partnership has been instrumental in supporting Malawi’s implementation of key pillars of its National Cybersecurity Strategy and improving cyber resilience at both institutional and national levels.”
The Ambassador further emphasized the value of needs-based and locally owned capacity-building approaches, as championed in the OEWG process. She reaffirmed Malawi’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with partners to ensure inclusive and sustainable cyber development.
Other contributors to the event included representatives from the Czech Republic, Qatar, Rwanda, Ghana, the Republic of Korea (TBC), ITU, and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). Discussions centered on how to strengthen global cyber resilience through tailored capacity-building programmes and strategic partnerships, aligned with the Doha Programme of Action for LDCs and the broader OEWG capacity-building agenda.
The event concluded with a call for continued collaboration among Member States, donors, and multilateral organizations to ensure that no country is left behind in the evolving digital landscape.