Strengthening transport corridors, improving infrastructure connectivity and advancing regional trade will be among the key priorities when Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders meet in Durban for the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government later this month.
The summit will culminate on August 17 following a series of technical, ministerial and preparatory meetings from August 3-17, said Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola during a media briefing in Pretoria on Wednesday, August 5.
The summit will be held under the theme Resilient, Sustainable and Inclusive Industrialisation through Infrastructure Development, Agricultural and Critical Minerals Transformation in Pursuit of a Just World.
Infrastructure development, regional trade, industrialisation and food security will be part of the agenda when SADC ministers meet ahead of the summit, Lamola said. The Council of Ministers will consider policy recommendations for submission to heads of state and government, including regional financing and institutional reforms.
The proposed SADC Presidential Champions Initiative will also be considered to strengthen implementation of regional priorities through high-level political leadership. The framework proposes that heads of state champion priority development areas, including infrastructure, industrialisation, agriculture, resource mobilisation and mining, according to Lamola.
Accelerating regional industrialisation and value chain development, strengthening infrastructure connectivity and transport corridors, enhancing agricultural productivity and food security, advancing beneficiation of critical minerals, strengthening resource mobilisation and operationalising the SADC Regional Development Fund are among the key outcomes expected from the summit, Lamola said.
South Africa also expects further progress in implementing the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020-2030, which remains SADC’s primary regional development blueprint, Lamola said.
Border security and migration management will also feature on the agenda. South Africa will use the summit to outline its approach to strengthening border security, combating irregular migration and promoting regional cooperation in migration-related challenges, according to Lamola.
