LILONGWE, Malawi
Mozambican Foreign Minister Veronica Macamo has said the deployment of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) military contingent to help fight terrorism in Mozambique is a clear reaffirmation of the traditional brotherhood among member countries.
Macamo made
the assertion on Friday in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe, where she addressed
the handover ceremony of the leadership of the SADC Council of Ministers to her
Malawian counterpart, Eisenhower Mkaka.
“We
acknowledge the enormous sacrifice consented to by the people of the region who
agreed to send their best children to serve a mission in our country,” she said,
adding that Mozambique will be eternally grateful for their priceless bravery.
She pointed
out that Mozambique assumed the rotating presidency of the regional block in a
murky and gloomy framework but managed to outline and implement the priorities
within the SADC global agenda.
“It was in
this context that we had to care about the outlined activities intended to meet
the theme “SADC: 40 Years Building Peace and Security, Promoting Development
and Resilience towards Global Challenges,” she added.
“We would
like to seize this occasion to express particularly our gratitude and
recognition to our tireless and committed nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers
and other hard-working members of the health service who are on the front line
against the Covid-19 pandemic, putting their own lives at risk. SADC
acknowledges their heroic qualities,” Macamo added.
In spite of
the historically difficult period mankind is going through, she was sure that
the SADC bodies will keep working effectively to ensure progress in the implementation
of the outlined goals.
Among the
main achievements by SADC, she pointed to the launch of the Humanitarian and
Emergency Operations Centre (COHE) in the northern Mozambican province of
Nampula which will promote actions of resilience against climate change.
“This great
achievement as well as the SADC Business Forum, on the sidelines of the 40th
Summit, expresses commitment to the development agenda and regional
integration,” she stated, adding that achievement of these priorities outlined
by Mozambique could not have been possible without the collaboration of the
other states.
Macamo also
stressed that the Industrialisation Strategy remains at the core of SADC
regional integration, and for its success an effective regional mechanism
intended to involve the private sector will be put in place.
On Tuesday,
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi will hand over the rotating chairmanship of
SADC to his Malawian counterpart, Lazarus Chakwera, at the 41st summit of the
organisation. The summit must also elect a successor to the SADC Executive
Secretary, Stergomena Tax, who has held the position for the past eight years.
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