President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead a delegation to the 42nd Annual Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this week.
Ramaphosa, who is the current chairman of the SADC body for politics, security and defence, will present a report on the deployment of SADC troops in Mozambique.
The province of Cabo Delgado has been under continuous attacks by insurgents who have been terrorizing the region since 2017.
South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, says the attacks are continuing and SADC leaders will discuss the security issue.
“We are going to report on the progress made on the promised deployment and the support of our personnel from various SADC countries, as well as Mozambique’s bilateral partnership with Rwanda – they have been working closely with our SADC forces,” the minister said.
Pandora chairs the meeting of SADC ministers:
Pandor notes that terrorist groups in the region continue to operate in the northern province of Mozambique and cause damage to populated areas. She says the intergovernmental organization will consider further steps and interventions that may be available to address the issue.
In May, she spoke at a ceremony in honor of the 20th anniversary of the African Union, where she expressed her dissatisfaction with the slow response of the SADC countries to intervene in the problem of the insurgency in Mozambique.
This year’s SADC Summit will be under the theme “Promoting Industrialization through Agricultural Processing, Mineral Enrichment and Regional Value Chains for Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth”, which will review progress in regional integration in line with SADC’s aspirations set out in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development organizations. Plan 2020-2030 as well as Vision 2050, both of which envision a peaceful, inclusive, competitive industrialized, middle- and high-income region where all citizens enjoy sustainable economic prosperity, equity and freedom.
