17 November 2022, Gaborone, Botswana. Tomorrow, 18 November 2022, the Chair of the SADC Organ, President Hage G. Geingob will undertake a working visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini to hold consultations with His Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini. The working visit is informed by the commitment of President Geingob to implement decisions of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. The SADC Organ Summit that was held on 16 August 2022 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, at which President Geingob assumed the role of Chairperson of the Organ reinforced the need for theSADC Organ to work for a peaceful and stable SADC Region.
The decision to strengthen continued dialogue with the Kingdom of Eswatini was reinforced by the Organ Troika meeting that was convened by President Geingob in Maseru, Lesotho on 28 October 2022, on the margins of the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane of the Kingdom of Lesotho. Among others, the objective of the Maseru Organ Troika Meeting was to review progress in the implementation of SADC decisions in the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Republic of Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The outgoing Chairperson of the SADC Organ, President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the incoming Chairperson of the Organ, President Hakainde Hichilema, participated in the meeting.
During the meeting in Maseru, the Troika of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation resolved that President Geingob would undertake a working visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini for political consultations with His Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini to discuss the implementation of SADC decisions on Eswatini.
Since becoming Chairperson of the SADC Organ in August 2022, President Geingob has been steering the affairs of the Organ, commencing with meetings in New York with the Panel of Elders Chaired by Former President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania on the margins of United Nations General Assembly in September 2022; the supervision of the 7 October 2022 General Elections in the Kingdom of Lesotho, which were
declared free and fair by electoral observation missions, leading to the inauguration of Prime Minister Sam Matekane on 28 October 2022.
Moreover, in pursuance of the objective of peace in the eastern DRC, the Chair of the Organ, President Geingob held telephonic consultations between 30 October 2022 and 2 November 2022 with the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, H.E. Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, H.E. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, including incoming Chair of the Organ, H.E. President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia andOutgoing Chair of the Organ, H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.
The Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation was established under Article 9 of the SADC Treaty. The mandate of the Chairperson of the SADC Organ Troika is outlined in Article 4 of the SADC Protocol on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation, which places on the Chairperson the responsibility for the overall policy direction and achievement of the objectives of the Organ in promoting peace and security in the SADC Region, in consultation with the SADC Organ Troika. President Geingob will depart for the Kingdom of Eswatini on Friday, 18 November 2022 and will return to Namibia the same day.
Enquiries:
- Barbara Lopi- Head of Communications and Public Relations, SADC Secretariat Email: blopi@sadc.int or prinfo@sadc.int
- Dr. Alfredo Hengari, Press Secretary, the Presidency of the Republic of Namibia Email: alfredo.hengari@op.gov.na Issued by the SADC Secretariat on 17 November 2022
