The SADC and EU jointly convened a workshop on the future economic partnership and cooperation, on 7th November 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. The objective of the workshop was for SADC and EU to engage and reconfirm their common objectives for economic growth and partnership and explore how to achieve those goals in the light of a new frameworks for partnership and cooperation. Following the SADC-EU EPA, EU and SADC have established a new framework for economic partnership, which should go beyond trade and should be a growth partnership to be supported by different financial and non-financial instruments.
Among other topics, the workshop discussed global economic and industrial trends and Implications for EU-SADC relations; industrialisation in a globalised economy: strategies, best practices and cooperation; key elements of and challenges faced by the SADC Industrialization Action Plan; EPA implementation and opportunities to be exploited; as well as industrialization and value chain development.
The meeting provided the first opportunity for a policy dialogue between SADC and the EU on economic partnership and identified actions to be implemented under policy, value chains; deepening regional economic integration, support for SMEs; and SADC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement and on how to re-enforce SADC-EU Cooperation.
The workshop was attended by Senior Officials of the SADC Double Troika Member States, namely Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and Tanzania, as well as officials from the EU and the SADC Secretariat.
On behalf of SADC, opening remarks were delivered by Mr Bertram Stewart, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Economic Planning and Development of the Kingdom of Swaziland, Mr. Koen Vervaeke, EEAS Managing Director for Africa delivered opening remarks on behalf of the EU.
