'SADC military support for Mozambique reaffirms brotherhood' - Minister

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.