The inaugural Peace and Security Thematic Group (PSTG) meeting was held at the SADC Headquarters on 25 May 2018. The PSTG has three major objectives; the first is to provide a platform for sharing experiences and information on peace and security in the region; secondly it is aimed at engaging ICPs on matters relating to peace and security and mapping the way forward in addressing areas of concern and consolidating peace and security in the SADC region; lastly the PSTG is aimed at facilitating resource mobilization for SADC’s peace and security activities in line with the Costed Implementation Plan on Peace and Security (2016 – 2021).
The meeting was chaired by the Director of the SADC Directorate of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs, Mr. Jorge Cardoso and was attended by representatives of various International Cooperating Partners (ICPs).
It being an inaugural session, the PSTG meeting among others discussed the Terms of Reference of the PSTG; SADC’s peace and security institutional and policy framework; SADC efforts aimed at maintaining peace and security in the region as well as areas amenable to ICP funding. Some ICPs in attendance identified areas in which they are interested in providing support. During the course of the meeting, the US Embassy in Botswana was selected to serve as the ICP Co – Chairperson for a period of one year. Delivering his closing remarks, Director Cardoso, expressed his appreciation to the ICPs for attending the meeting which will be convened twice a year reporting to the SADC ICP Dialogue Platform.
The meeting was attended by the following members of the Diplomatic Community: the European Union Delegation in Botswana; German Embassy in Botswana, Russian Embassy in Botswana, Japanese Embassy in Botswana, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in South Africa, the International Organisation on Migration (IOM) in Botswana, the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) office in Botswana, the Embassy of the United States of America in Botswana, the British Embassy in Botswana and the Norwegian Embassy in South Africa.
