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.
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.