08/11/2024
On 8th August 2024, the Republic of Zimbabwe took over the Chairship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Standing Committee of Senior Officials from the Republic of Angola, marking the start of the process for the official handover of the SADC Chairship from the Republic of Angola to the Republic of Zimbabwe during the 44th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government on 17 August, 2024.
In his acceptance speech during the opening ceremony of the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials, the Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Senior Officials, Ambassador Albert Ranganai Chimbindi, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe pledged Zimbabwe’s commitment to cooperate with all SADC Member States in implementing the aspirations enshrined in the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030.
Ambassador Chimbindi highlighted the need to intensify trade facilitation measures to boost intra-regional trade and investment in the SADC region by taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by instruments such as the SADC Protocol on Trade, the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with the view to promote industrialisation and enhance competitiveness, thereby creating decent work and alleviating poverty for SADC citizens.
On the 44th SADC Summit theme, “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustained Economic Growth and Development towards an Industrialised SADC”, Ambassador Chimbindi highlighted that the theme provides an opportunity for the SADC region to refocus and refine the region’s collective thoughts.
Outgoing Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Senior Officials Ambassador Dr. Nazaré José Salvador highlighted some of the achievements made in the past year in line with the theme of the 43rd SADC Summit: Human and Financial Capital: The Key Drivers for Sustainable Industrialisation in the SADC Region, which was adopted in August 2023 in Luanda, Republic of Angola.
Ambassador Dr. Salvador hailed the convening of the SADC Youth Forum on 3rd July 2024 in Angola as one of the key events that provided an opportunity for young entrepreneurs and leaders to deliberate on the 43rd SADC Summit theme with the view to discuss actions to ensure youth empowerment, inclusion and participation in the development process of the region.
Ambassador Dr. Salvador underscored the need to expedite the operationalisation of the Regional Development Fund, a regional financing mechanism aimed at supporting SADC’s economic development and sustainable growth. He also called on the region to fast-track the operationalisation of the University of Transformation to build skills necessary for accelerating the SADC industrialisation agenda.
Being his last address as the Chairperson of the Committee, Ambassador Dr. Salvador thanked members of the Committee for their collective efforts in addressing the challenges facing the region. He cited as an example the work of the Committee in address the humanitarian situation necessitated by the El Niño induced drought and floods leading to the launch of the Regional Humanitarian Appeal of US$5.5 billion on 20 March 2024 to support Member States affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
The meeting of the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials precedes the meeting of the Council of Ministers and Summit of Heads of State and Government which will be held on 13-14 August 2024 and 17 August 2024 respectively.
The SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials is a technical advisory committee to the Council of Ministers. The Committee consists of Permanent/Principal Secretaries or officials of equivalent rank from each Member State, mostly from the Ministries responsible for Foreign Affairs, Economic Planning or Finance.
