Sadc Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government tomorrow

Prosper Ndlovu
THE Southern African Development Community (Sadc) will hold an Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government tomorrow (Wednesday, June 23, 2021) in Maputo, Mozambique, to discuss regional integration, cooperation and development issues.

Sadc chairperson, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, who is also President of Mozambique will chair the summit proceedings. Among the key topics, the high-level gathering will discuss the regional response and support to Mozambique in addressing terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, regional food and nutrition security, gender and development, and progress in the regional response to HIV and Aids and Covid-19 pandemic.

“The summit will review progress made in the implementation of the theme of the 40th SADC Summit; SADC: 40 Years Building Peace and Security, and Promoting Development and Resilience in the Face of Global Challenges, which was endorsed by the SADC Summit in August, 2020,” said the Sadc Secretariat in a statement issued on Sunday.

“The Summit will also mark the regional commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of SADC with the launch of three publications by His Excellency Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique, in his capacity as the chairperson of SADC.

“The publications to be launched are; 40 Years of SADC: Enhancing Regional Cooperation and Integration; Volume 2 of Mozambique SADC Success Stories and the Hashim Mbita (Southern African Liberation Struggles).”

Preceding the summit was the meeting of the Sadc Standing Committee of senior officials yesterday while the meeting of Sadc Council of Ministers is due today.

The summit comes at a time when several regional member States have declared days of national mourning in honour of the late first President of the Republic of Zambia, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, who died at 97 last Thursday.

The late veteran nationalist played a pivotal role in the formation of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), the fore-runner to Sadc.

“In this regard, the SADC flag, and those of SADC member States shall be flown at half-mast during the Extraordinary Summit and preceding meetings,” said the Sadc.

The Sadc Summit of Heads of State and Government is the supreme policy-making institution of the regional bloc responsible for the overall policy direction and control of functions of the community in accordance with Article 10 of the Sadc Treaty.