The German Ambassador, and Observer to SADC, His Excellency Mr. Rolf ULRICH, bid farewell to the SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax on 14th June 2017 after his four-year term of office in Botswana. H.E. Ulrich thanked the Executive Secretary for the excellent collaboration that existed between the two Parties during his term of Office in Botswana. During the meeting the German Ambassador announced an additional €9.5 million contribution to the Project Preparation and Development Fund. The PPDF is intended to assist SADC in the implementation of the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP) by preparing projects to bankability, and thus attracting investors to participate in infrastructure projects, which contribute to the enhancement of regional economic integration.
The SADC Executive Secretary thanked the outgoing Ambassador for the productive four years in Botswana that has seen a number of development initiatives in support of the SADC regional integration agenda. She also thanked the Government of the Republic of Germany for the additional Resources for the PPDF and wished the Ambassador well as he leaves the country after his 4-year term in Botswana.
The two Parties also discussed the progress and the extent of preparations for the SADC-German negotiations scheduled to take place on 27th and 28th June in Germany. The SADC-German negotiations are aimed at identifying priority areas of cooperation between SADC and German and ensure that German support is channelled towards SADC priorities. They agreed that negotiations will focus on four areas, namely: regional economic integration, strengthening national-regional linkages, transboundary water management and transboundary use and protection of natural resources and resilience to climate change.
