The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region is fairly stable and peaceful, despite some isolated challenges, particularly the terrorist insurgency in Cabo Delgado province of the Republic of Mozambique which has killed many people and displaced more than 850 000 others, said His Excellency Mr. Elias M. Magosi, the Executive Secretary of SADC.
He said that in view of the fact that there is trust bestowed on the SADC structures to restore peace and security, the SADC Region as a collective is on the right course to suppress, degrade and weaken its adversaries. H.E Magosi was speaking during a courtesy call by Mr Alle Dorhout, Africa Director of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Gaborone, Botswana, on the 21st April 2022.
H.E Magosi said the cordial relationship between the Netherlands and SADC has come a long way, going back to the liberation struggles of Member States, particularly Amsterdam’s role in the abolition of apartheid in the Republic of South Africa. He recognised the efforts made by the Netherlands Government to the development of the SADC Region through its support to various programmes at the national and regional level in areas of climate change, agriculture, women and youth development, as well as humanitarian support and peace and security.
He applauded the Netherlands Government for the support to the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) in the humanitarian appeal and reconstruction process of Cabo Delgado province.
The Executive Secretary appraised the Director on the roadmap by the SADC Region on its endeavour to achieve industrialisation through the implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030 which provides a clear strategic direction on SADC programmes, projects and activities towards the attainment of the SADC Vision 2050. He stated that it is a deliberate decision by the Region to focus on improving on new opportunities such as the value chains, pharmaceuticals and digital technology in diversifying the economic gains for the region.
Mr Dorhout commended H.E Magosi for his efforts in steering the regional bloc to new heights, especially at a time the world is faced with new challenges and economic hurdles as well as global inflation and crumbling markets. The Director appreciated the efforts made by the SADC Region in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the resilience in keeping the economy afloat and managing to achieve progress in the fight against many other challenges in the areas of peace and security, health and infrastructure development.
He emphasised the willingness to further expand collaboration and sharing of knowledge, in areas of cyber security, digitisation, trade, climate change particularly on green hydrogen expansion, as well as the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to refocus and increase engagement on many sectors.
Regarding the situation in Cabo Delgado province, the Director called for sustainable solutions and peace to enable the region to further bridge the gap through engagement with the civil society and canvas support from the international cooperating partners to reintegrate those affected back to normalcy.
The Director was accompanied by His Excellency Mr. Hans Peters, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands to South Africa and SADC, while the Executive Secretary was accompanied by Dr Thembinkosi Mhlongo, the SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration, amongst other senior officials from both side.
