The Standing Committee of Senior Officials from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will meet on 9th – 10 August 2019, at the Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre (JNICC) in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania to review and prepare documents for the meeting of Council of Ministers scheduled for 13-14 August, 2019.
During the opening of the meeting, Ambassador Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, the Executive Director in the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation for the Republic of Namibia, handed over the Chairpersonship of the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials to Dr. Faraji Kasidi Mnyepe the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania.
Dr. Kasidi Mnyepe called on the Senior Officials to engage in meaningful deliberations in the spirit of togetherness in order to advance the regional integration agenda. He underscored the importance of the meeting as a build-up to the 39th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government scheduled to take place in Dar es Salaam on 17-18 August 2019.
He expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Ashipala-Musavyi, and the SADC Executive Secretary, Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax for demonstrating strong leadership in spearheading regional activities in the past year.
On her part, the Outgoing Chairperson of the SADC Committee of Senior Officials Ambassador Selma Ashipala-Musavyi informed delegates that SADC was in the process of realigning its strategic plans and renewing priorities to ensure that they are relevant to the contemporary challenges faced by the region. On this note, Ambassador Ashipala-Musavyi said the region is in the process of developing Regional Vison 2050 to ensure that SADC’s vision speaks to the African Union Agenda 2063.
The SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials is a technical advisory committee whose mandate, among others, is to review and clear documents for the SADC Council of Ministers which oversees the functioning of the SADC institution and ensures that policies and decisions are implemented.
The 39th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government will be held under the theme; “A Conducive Environment for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, Increased Intra-Regional Trade, and Job Creation.”
The SADC Summit is responsible for the overall policy direction and control of functions of the community, ultimately making it the policy-making institution of SADC. It is made up of all SADC Heads of States or Government
