President Samia in Maputo for Sadc emergency meeting
Wednesday June 23 2021
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan arrived in Mozambique’s capital Maputo on Wednesday for a two-day State visit.
She is scheduled to attend a Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) to discuss issues of regional integration, cooperation and development.
The Sadc emergency meeting will be held under the chairmanship Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.
This is the first Sadc meeting President Samia is attending physically since she took over the presidency on March 19.
Key issues to be discussed in the summit include the regional response and support to Mozambique in addressing terrorism, regional food and nutrition, security, gender and development, and progress in the regional response to HIV/Aids and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Summit will review progress made in the implementation of the theme of the 40th Sadc Summit, Sadc: 40 Years Building Peace and Security, and Promoting Development and Resilience in the Face of Global Challenges, which was endorsed by the community in the August 2020 meeting.
The Summit will also mark its 40th Anniversary with the launch of three publications by President Nyusi, in his capacity as the Chairperson of Sadc.
The publications to be launched are; 40 Years of Sadc: Enhancing Regional Cooperation and Integration; Volume 2 of Mozambique Sadc Success Stories; and Hashim Mbita (Southern African Liberation Struggles).
The Summit of Heads of State and Government is the policy-making institution of Sadc with the responsibility for the overall policy direction and control of functions of the community in accordance with Article 10 of the Sadc Treaty.
In addition, Sadc Member States have declared days of national mourning in honour of the late first President of the Republic of Zambia, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, who played a pivotal role in the formation of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (Sadcc), the forerunner to Sadc.
The Sadc flag and those of member states will be flown at half-mast during the summit and preceding meetings.