A German delegation attending a meeting of Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Germany to SADC Member States in Gaborone, Botswana, paid a courtesy call to the SADC Secretariat on Thursday April 7, 2016. The German delegation was led by H.E. Mr Rolf Ulrich, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Botswana and to SADC, accompanied by Mr. Achim Burkart, Head of Division HR, Federal Foreign Office in Berlin; Mr. Christian Clages, Head of Southern Africa Division in Berlin; and Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Germany and Deputy Head of Mission to 9 other SADC Member States, namely, Angola, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The SADC Secretariat Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration, Dr. Thembinkosi Mhlongo, welcomed the delegation to the SADC Secretariat on behalf of the Executive Secretary. He reiterated the importance of cooperation with the Federal Republic of Germany through different programmes and projects implemented at Regional level and in SADC Member States, covering several sectors such as water management, natural resources management, peace and security, capacity building, infrastructure, agriculture, trade and regional integration.
The Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Germany to SADC Member States exchanged notes with the SADC Secretariat towards the improvement of cooperation, and discussed similarities on regional issues of development between SADC and other Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Southern and Eastern Africa such as the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
The German delegation reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Republic of Germany in supporting SADC priority programmes.
The Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration thanked the delegation for the continued cooperation and support to SADC and SADC Member States in various other areas, and wished that this visit will constitute one of the platforms for enhancing the harmonization of interventions. The Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration was accompanied by the Director of Policy Planning and Resource Mobilisation, Dr. Angelo Mondlane.
