SADC Members Gather in DRC to Discuss Joint Industrialization, Agriculture Efforts
10:57 GMT 18.08.2022 (Updated: 11:37 GMT 23.11.2022)
© AFP 2023 / PHILL MAGAKOEMozambican President Filipe Nyusi (L), South African President and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Chairperson on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation Cyril Ramaphosa (C) and Namibia's President Hage Geingob (R) leave following the conclusion of the Extraordinary Summit of the SADC Organ Troika Plus the Republic of Mozambique at the OR Tambo Building in Pretoria, on October 5, 2021. The Summit will receive a progress report on the operations of the SADC Mission to Mozambique since its deployment and will consider the way forward as the deployment to combat acts of terrorism and violent extremism in the Northern Region of Cabo Delgado Province comes to an end on 15 October 2021. (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP)
© AFP 2023 / PHILL MAGAKOE
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The SADC started as a conference on southern African economic development in 1980 and has since transformed into a platform that promotes joint socio-economic policies and cooperation between member-states.
The heads of the 16 member-states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on August 17 and 18 for the 42nd SADC Summit. The summit looks to discuss ways of developing their economies and promoting joint economic cooperation for the coming year.
Today the SADC-Plant Genetic Resources Centre jointly held the SADC Day commemoration with the Ministry of Information & Media. Journalists participated in the event aimed at publicising the importance impact of the Centre in promoting food security in the region. pic.twitter.com/ZcLhE6GkBR
— SADC Secretariat (@SADC_News) August 17, 2022
The summit kicked off with a meeting between SADC senior officials, as well as the Council of Ministers, which consists of member states’ ministers of foreign affairs, economy and finance. The Council of Ministers prepare the agenda for the heads of government. This year’s agenda is dedicated to industrialization, agricultural development, processing of minerals and regional supply chains, as well as "inclusive and resilient economic growth.”
The SADC was born as the SADCC in 1980 and has held yearly meetings since to discuss ways to promote cooperation in socio-economic spheres, as well as joint work in the fields of security and policies. During the annual SADC summit, member-states develop the overall policy direction that the 16 countries should follow. Despite being a loose integration project, the SADC’s Council of Ministers monitors the implementation of the adopted policies.
Malawi currently presides over the SADC, but will pass the mantle to the DRC once the 42nd annual summit is over.