Republic of Mauritius- SADC Council of Ministers gear up for the 40th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government

During the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Mozambique, Hon. Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo will take over the Chairpersonship of the SADC Council of Ministers from the Outgoing Chairperson, Hon. Prof. Palamagamba John Kabudi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania.

The Ministers will review implementation of the 39th SADC Summit “A Conducive Environment for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, Increased Intra-Regional Trade and Job Creation” and recommend for Summit approval the theme of the 40th Summit of Heads of State and Government, “40 Years Building Peace and Security, and Promoting Development and Resilience in the Face of Global Challenges”. 

The 40th SADC Summit Theme takes forward the implementation of the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap by recognising the primacy of peace security and governance as a foundation which ensures the preconditions needed to achieve the other priorities of SADC regional integration.

As part of the regional response to COVID-19, the Ministers will discuss the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 and its implications on the SADC region. The Ministers will also consider the draft SADC Vision 2050 and the revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030 and recommend the two strategic documents for approval by the 40th SADC Summit.

According to Article 11 of the SADC Treaty, the Council of Ministers is responsible for, among others, overseeing the functioning and development of SADC, approving policies, strategies and programmes of SADC as well as advising the Summit of Heads of State and Government on matters of overall policy. The Council consists of Ministers from each of the 16 Member States; usually from the Ministries responsible for Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Economic Planning or Finance.