Scottish Secretary David Mundell joked that the UK Parliament could sit in Malawi while the Palace of Westminster is refurbished as he was shown around the chamber yesterday.
The Tory Cabinet minister suggested a move from London to south-east Africa could solve the question of how to accommodate MPs and peers who face relocation when much-needed, large-scale renovations are undertaken.
After two days in Mozambique, Mr Mundell – accompanied by the Press and Journal – is now visiting Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, on the second-leg of his trip.
At the Parliament of Malawi, which is based on the UK model, he met Speaker Richard Msowoya, who is also vice-president of the main opposition party.
The pair, who were joined by British High Commissioner to Malawi Michael Nevin, discussed a range of issues including Scottish devolution, the EU referendum and electoral reform.
They also spent time in the chamber where the speaker banged a large drum three times, demonstrating what happens at the start of proceedings.
Mr Msowoya said Malawi, which is one of the world’s poorest countries, still considered the UK “parent-like”, stressing his country’s “loyalty” to it.
But he also indicated communications with Westminster could be better, a concern Mr Mundell agreed to feed back to Commons Speaker John Bercow.
The National Assembly, to which 193 MPs are elected, was built with Chinese aid, but it is closely modelled on the House of Commons.
A Sergeant At Arms brings in the mace and the speaker wears a wig, as traditionally happened at Westminster.
In addition, general elections in Malawi are conducted under the first-past-the-post system.
But there are also significant differences between the two legislatures, including the fact the Malawi parliament sits just two or three times a year for a period of around a month on each occasion.
Commentators put this down to government control of the cash-flow to parliament, which only allows for limited sitting time and can make for rushed parliamentary business.
In another departure from the UK model, the Malawi government is led by a separatelyelected president rather than a prime minister in the form of the leader of the largest party in the Commons.
The president – Peter Mutharika since May 2014 – has the power to appoint ministers to his cabinet, which can include non-MPs.
After his visit to the parliament, Mr Mundell joined the leader for bilateral talks at State House, ahead of a formal dinner.
Earlier in the day, he met with UN agencies for a briefing on the food insecurity challenge affecting Malawi, as well as the arrival of refugees fleeing violence in Mozambique.