By Our Correspondent, HARARE Zimbabwe
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will today hold its 40th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government focusing on peace and security, threats posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, among other issues.
The summit
will be conducted through a video conference due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Zimbabwe President,
Emmerson Mnangagwa will take part in the summit, which was preceded by meetings
of ministers and senior officials to clear the path for the Heads of State.
The summit
will be held under the theme, “40 Years Building Peace and Security, and
Promoting Development and Resilience in the Face of Global Challenges”.
Foreign
Affairs and International Trade Minister, Sibusiso Moyo said the agenda of the
summit had been set, with the “primary focus being to facilitate the handover
of chairmanship of the SADC Summit from Tanzania to the Republic of
Mozambique|”.
Moyo said
President Mnangagwa, as the outgoing chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence
and Security Co-operation, will table a report to highlight his tenure which
began in August 2019.
In line with
the organisation’s principle of rotation, Mozambique will take over from
Tanzania as chair of summit, while Botswana will assume chairmanship of the
Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation from Zimbabwe.
The summit
will also elect new deputy chairpersons of the SADC Summit and the SADC organ
who will then assume chairmanship in August 2021.
The summit
will receive a report from the outgoing chair of the organ, President
Mnangagwa.
In his report,
he will outline the key activities of the organ during Zimbabwe’s tenure,
covering the period of August 2019 to August 2020.
Other issues
to be discussed include the socio-impact of Covid-19 and its implications on
the region.
Zimbabwe, in its
capacity as chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation,
has been championing a regional approach to address the terrorism threat and has confidence in the
capacity of regional security institutions to deal with the matter.
During his
tenure as chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation,
President Mnangagwa received plaudits from his regional colleagues for
successfully mediating in regional security issues such as the situation in
Lesotho and most recently the boundary dispute between Zambia and the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
“It’s really
buttressing the concept of security which provides stability for development
whilst it is accepting that there are global challenges which are facing the
region and which are also facing the community, but whilst facing the rest of
the world such as the Covid-19,” said Minister Moyo.
The meeting
comes in view of the challenges posed by the Covid 19 pandemic.
The summit is
expected to focus on SADC’s liberation war heritage and historical legacy. The
regional bloc was set to consider mechanisms of honouring its founding fathers
as recommended by the Ministerial Committee of the Organ.
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