Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states have been urged to bank on the community’s economic development efforts saying economic liberation is a long process that requires firm cooperation and unwavering integration.
This statement was made by Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Professor Amon Murwira, ahead of the swearing-in of Madagascar’s Foreign Minister, Rasata Rafaravavitafika, as the new Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on August 12, 2025.
At the SADC Council of Ministers meeting, Tanzania was represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Mahmoud Thabit Kombo. One of the main agenda items discussed was the preparations for the 45th SADC Heads of State Summit scheduled for August 17, 2025.
Prof. Murwira identified challenges as part of any development process and urged meeting participants not to overlook the community’s efforts because of emerging difficulties. Instead, he encouraged using those challenges as tools to achieve SADC’s objectives.
He said SADC was established to promote regional integration and that member states should always remember this mission, bearing in mind the principles and vision of the community’s founders such as the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the late Robert Mugabe, and the late Kenneth Kaunda.
Furthermore, Prof. Murwira praised ongoing efforts within member states to strengthen regional integration, including the removal of barriers like visa requirements for SADC citizens and finding solutions to the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, whose effects have impacted all member states.
On his part, SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi highlighted the importance for participants to focus on the community’s development agenda, which aims to promote industrial development, expand regional integration, trade, and markets.
Magosi said the main goal of the meeting was to review the achievements in implementing the agenda over the past year and also to seek joint solutions to the challenges encountered.
He added that the meeting is taking place at a time when the world is facing various challenges, including changes in international politics, increased taxation on trade, and reduced aid from donors.
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