South African President Jacob Zuma will on Friday begin a working visit to Swaziland, which will include the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government that is scheduled to take place on Saturday.
The Presidency said in a statement Wednesday that the Summit is scheduled to discuss the Report of the Ministerial Task Force on Regional Economic Integration: Industrialisation and Regional Economic Integration.
The Summit will further discuss, amongst other things, food security following the armyworm outbreak currently affecting crop production and food security in the region. The regional bloc leaders will also discuss the request from the Union of Comoros and the Republic of Burundi to join the SADC.
President Zuma will also, on 17 March, participate in the SADC Double Troika Summit which is convened to receive and discuss a progress report on the implementation of SADC decisions in relation to the political situation in the Kingdom of Lesotho, as well as as well as an update on the political and security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
SA Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as SADC facilitator in Lesotho, will give a report to the summit on Lesotho.
The extraordinary summit will be preceded by the SADC Council of Ministers’ meeting and the SADC Ministerial Retreat under the theme “The SADC We Want”.
The Presidency said the SADC Ministerial Retreat deliberations would focus on three thematic areas – SADC Vision Progress, Challenges and Prospects, SADC’s Institutional Capacity to deliver on its mandate and Resource Mobilisation.
Zuma is set to be accompanied by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and Minister Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies.
– African News Agency (ANA)
