Africa-Press – Namibia. PRESIDENT Hage Geingob has returned from the Kingdom of Eswatini, where he paid a one-day visit to His Majesty King Mswati III in his capacity as Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
The Namibian Presidency revealed that the objective of the visit was for Geingob to introduce himself as the new Chair of the SADC Organ, with a responsibility to find collective solutions with member states to issues that threaten peace and security in the region.
The president’s spokesperson, Dr Alfredo Hengari, revealed that the two leaders discussed matters of bilateral, regional and continental interest.
Hengari said that King Mswati III provided Geingob with an update on the developments in the Kingdom of Eswatini and Geingob assured the king that the issues raised will be discussed at the Troika. The two leaders also came to an agreement regarding the importance of SADC partnership as well as taking advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) for economic development.
Hengari said that the president also emphasised the importance of finding common ground to avert crises and to give the Kingdom of Eswatini a chance to entrench peace and development for prosperity of the country and the entire SADC Region.
“You do not make peace with friends. You make peace with your enemies and solutions must be found in the Kingdom to whatever challenges there may be. Solutions will not come from outside, but from the Emswati,” Geingob said.
During the visit, Geingob also highlighted the various roles the SADC Organ has played in strengthening peace on the continent. In this regard, he updated the king on the political and security developments in the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Mozambique.
Geingob said that he is pleased with the current positive developments in the Kingdom of Lesotho, following the inauguration of the country’s new Prime Minister, Sam Matekane, in October. He added that Lesotho would soon be removed from the agenda of the Organ Troika. Geingob also informed the king that he reminded Matekane of the need to deal with outstanding reforms during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Namibia.
Geingob also highlighted the Organ’s efforts to bring peace to the eastern part of DRC, adding that the Organ will continue to emphasise the important role that President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of Angola plays in finding a solution to the war in eastern DRC through the Luanda Process.
Geingob also mentioned that he had a call with President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda and President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo of the DRC to bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict. He informed the king that the issue will form part of the agenda for the upcoming Extraordinary Summit of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
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