President Cyril Ramaphosa has left for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he is to attend the 42nd Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The SADC Summit at Kinshasa’s Palais du Peuple (Parliament Building) will start on Wednesday and end on Thursday.
Dr. Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mondli Gungubele, Minister in the Presidency, and Thabang Makwetla, Deputy Minister of Defense and Military Veterans, are all with the President.
Under the topic “Promoting industrialization via, agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, and regional value chains for inclusive and resilient economic growth,” regional leaders will discuss the region’s development.
The subject highlights initiatives to improve the 2020–2030 SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) implementation.
According to a statement from the Presidency, “SADC Member States will hear a report on progress achieved in the execution of strategic policies and prior summit decisions, since the last meeting in August of 2021 held in Lilongwe, Malawi.”
South Africa uses SADC as its main instrument of foreign policy to advance regional integration and development in Southern Africa.
In addition, the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) (2020– 2030), the Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap, and the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan serve as guidelines for SADC.
The summit is anticipated to approve a Memorandum of Agreement on the formation and operationalization of the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (SHOC), which would be based in Mozambique, given the frequency of natural disasters in the area.
The proposed SADC Mechanism for Engagement with Non-State Actors would be taken into consideration during the summit, the Presidency said, “in recognition of the role played by non-State actors in this area.”
The ratification, accession, and implementation status of SADC Agreements and Protocols by member States will also be discussed during this year’s summit.
The summit is anticipated to continue discussing a proposed revision to a protocol on the growth of tourism in the area as well as an amendment to the SADC Treaty that would recognise the SADC Parliament as a SADC Institution.
The discussions of the SADC Organ Troika Summit, which is in charge of fostering peace and security in the region, will be led by President Ramaphosa in his capacity as the organization’s outgoing Chair of politics, defence, and security cooperation as well as facilitator of the Lesotho peace process.
The summit will be preceded by meetings of the Standing Committee of Senior Officials, the Finance Committee, the Council of Ministers, a SADC Public Lecture, and the Organ Troika Summit.
President Lazarus Chakwera of the Republic of Malawi will hand over the SADC chairmanship to President Félix Tshisekedi Tshilombo of the DRC at the meeting.
On August 17, 2021, at the 41st SADC Summit in Lilongwe, Malawi, Malawi took the Chair.