By Khulile Thwala
The Standing Committee of Senior Officials of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has kicked off their meeting, ahead of that of the Council of Ministers.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Ambassador Songhu Kayumba Donatien, Chairperson of the SADC Standing Committee called on the delegates to thoroughly deliberate the issues with a common goal of
promoting regional integration and development.
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Ambassador Donatien highlighted that the DRC, as the current Chair of SADC continues to promote and champion the SADC industrialisation agenda as a way of ensuring that SADC improves the livelihoods of the
citizens of the region, and continues to be a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy.
The Council of Ministers meeting will be held under the 42nd SADC Summit Theme, which is; “Promoting industrialisation through agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, and regional value chains for inclusive and resilient economic growth”.
According to SADC News, the theme takes into account the urgent need to enhance the rollout of SADC industrialisation and market integration programmes as contained in the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030.
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Among the key issues of regional integration and development, the ministers will discuss the overall status of the implementation of the council and summit decisions; the status of implementation of the prioritised intervention areas for the Theme of the 41st SADC Summit.
The SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials is a technical advisory committee to the Council of Ministers and acts as a clearing house for the agenda of the Council of Ministers. The SADC Council of Ministers is responsible for overseeing the functioning and development of SADC and ensuring that SADC policies are properly implemented.
