President Cyril Ramaphosa will participate in the 41st Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Lilongwe, Malawi, on 17 and 18 August 2021.

As host of the summit, the Republic of Malawi will assume the Chair of SADC from the Republic of Mozambique.

The summit will be held under the theme, ‘Bolstering Productive Capacities in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Inclusive, Sustainable, Economic and Industrial Transformation’.

“On Monday, President Ramaphosa will present a report on the facilitation process in the Kingdom of Lesotho to the SADC Troika Summit of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

“The Republic of Botswana will, as Outgoing Chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, present a progress report on the status of regional peace and security,” the Presidency said in a statement.

Botswana will also hand over Chairship of the Organ to South Africa.

The Presidency said at the 41st SADC Summit, Heads of State and Government leaders will deliberate on developments related to SADC’s priority areas such as peace and security, and the implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030.

“The summit will also examine the performance of SADC institutions and review the overall implementation of SADC socio-economic programmes, with particular focus on the COVID-19 pandemic response in the region,” the Presidency said.

The SADC summit will be the last to be facilitated by Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax as the Executive Secretary of SADC, following the end of her two-term mandate.

A new SADC Executive Secretary will be announced at the Malawi summit.

President Ramaphosa will be supported by the Ministers of International Relations and Cooperation Dr Naledi Pandor, and Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise.

In preparation for the summit, the SADC Council of Ministers sat on 13 and 14 August.

Source: South African Government News Agency