Africa-Press – Mauritius. The Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) is holding, in collaboration with the Parliament of Botswana, the 49th Plenary Assembly Virtual Session on the role of Parliaments in leveraging the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) from 25 to 27 June 2021.
The theme of the Plenary Session is: “Leveraging the AfCFTA for Post-Covid Economic Recovery in Southern Africa: The Role of SADC Parliamentary Forum and National Parliaments.
Participants from Member States of the SADC comprising of Speakers of the respective National Assembly and Members of Parliament are attending the Plenary Session.
Three Parliamentary Members from Mauritius are participating in the Session, namely: Mr Ashley Ittoo; Ms Marie Genevieve Stephanie Anquetil; and Ms Marie Joanne Sabrina Tour.
The SADC PF plenary session is focusing on the need for post-COVID recovery and reconstruction of SADC countries that have been preoccupied with addressing the immediate economic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic so as to kick-start production and propel economies towards recovery.
Emphasis is also laid on providing emergence and social protection measures to families that have been rendered more vulnerable as well as in providing financial support to businesses to help them sustain.
SADC Parliamentary Forum
The SADC Parliamentary Forum is a regional inter-parliamentary body composed of 15 parliaments representing over 3500 parliamentarians in the SADC region.
The Member Parliaments are: Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), eSwatini, Lesotho, Madagascar; Malawi; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; South Africa; Seychelles; Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Forum seeks to bring regional experiences at the national level to promote best practices in the role of Parliaments in regional cooperation and integration as outlined in the SADC Treaty and the Forum Constitution.
Its main aim is to provide a platform for Parliaments to promote and improve regional integration in the SADC region, through Parliamentary involvement and Parliamentary diplomacy.
