Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP David Mundell has been taking part in this week’s celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great Scottish explorer Dr David Livingstone.
Earlier this year the local MP paid an official visit to Malawi as part of the celebrations and invited the country’s president, Dr Joyce Banda, to Scotland and the UK to play her part in the celebrations.
“Tuesday marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of David Livingstone, and I was pleased to have been at Sunday’s special commemorative service held in Blantyre Livingstone Memorial Parish Church. This explorer, writer, missionary, medic and anti-slavery campaigner rose from humble beginnings in a Lanarkshire tenement to become celebrated as “Africa’s first freedom fighter.”
“On Monday, with President Banda of Malawi, I visited the East Kilbride offices of the Department for International Development, who play a major part in administering aid, including Malawi which I visited recently.
“Tuesday’s bicentenary was marked with a wreath-laying ceremony at Westminster Abbey, where David Livingstone's body is buried, and I was pleased to attend that special event along with President Banda, and later welcoming her to a special reception at the Scotland Office.”
Dr Livingstone’s message about trade being the way to combat poverty and slavery in Africa, about opening the continent up, and recording its many facets are as relevant today as they were in his lifetime.
And the MP added: “We can all be very proud of Dr Livingstone’s continuing impact both at home and abroad, but we must in the same sprit continue to work to prevent poverty. This historic occasion is also a time to celebrate Scotland’s links with Malawi, and is a reminder of the great things Scotland has done for the world and of our potential.”