from MARCUS MUSHONGA in Harare, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Bureau
HARARE, (CAJ News) – THE process for the official handover of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Chairship from Angola to Zimbabwe has begun.
This comes after Zimbabwe took over the chairship of the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials from Angola.
The process is ahead of the 44th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government that Zimbabwe will host on August 17.
Albert Ranganai Chimbindi is the Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Senior Officials.
He is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Zimbabwe.
Chimbindi pledged Zimbabwe’s commitment to cooperate with all SADC member states in implementing the aspirations enshrined in the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030.
He highlighted the need to intensify trade facilitation measures to boost intra-regional trade and investment in the region by taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by instruments such as the SADC Protocol on Trade, the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“This is with the view to promote industrialisation and enhance competitiveness, thereby creating decent work and alleviating poverty for SADC citizens,” Chimbindi said.
The SADC summit will be held under the theme, “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustained Economic Growth and Development towards an Industrialised SADC.”
“The theme provides an opportunity for the SADC region to refocus and refine the region’s collective thoughts,” Chimbindi said.
Founded in Zambia in 1980, SADC, an African Union regional economic community, is a 16-member bloc headquartered in Botswana.
– CAJ News