Minister of foreign affairs Nancy Tembo said the country, will benefit a lot with the coming in of African Institute for Development Policy (Afidep).

Afidep has moved from its headquarters Nairobi in Kenya to Malawi and the government has given it diplomatic status.

Tembo made the statement when Afidep presented its letter of credence to Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday in Lilongwe.

According to Tembo, Afidep has helped strengthen individual and institutional capacity for evidence use and informed development policies and strategies in 26 African countries.

Afidep Country Representative Eliya Zulu thanked the government for granting Afidep diplomatic status.

Zulu said the gesture demonstrates the government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for the institute’s work, focused on putting evidence at the center of development efforts.