SA to chair SADC from August

Africa News

As chair of SADC, SA will host the 37th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Pretoria.

South Africa will assume the role of chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) from August 2017, taking over from the Kingdom of Swaziland.

SADC was established in 1992 as a regional body responsible for the development of the southern region of the African continent. It is committed to regional integration and poverty eradication, through economic development and ensuring peace and security.

The community is made up of 15 member states, namely Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Each country has the opportunity to chair SADC on a one-year term.

South Africa will host the 37th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in August 2017, in Pretoria, under the theme ‘Partnering with the private sector in developing industry and regional value chains’.

The summit, which takes place on 19 and 20 August, will be preceded by the Senior Officials’ Meeting from 11 to 14 August, the Ministerial Meeting on 16 August and the Double Troika on 18  August. All the meetings will take place at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation OR Tambo Building in Pretoria.

The Troika is made up of three countries: the incoming chairperson, current chairperson and the outgoing chairperson. They all report to the summit chairperson.

“We are extremely honoured to have been elected as the incoming Chairperson of SADC. This is a responsibility we take very seriously,” said President Jacob Zuma in his acceptance speech last year.

“We extend our profound gratitude to SADC member states for the trust and confidence bestowed on us. We equally wish to affirm our total commitment to carrying out this huge responsibility to the best of our ability.”