The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden to the Republic of South Africa and Special Representative of Sweden to SADC, Her Excellency Cecilia Julin on 1st November 2017, presented her Letters of Credence to the SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax at the SADC Secretariat in Gaborone, Republic of Botswana.
Her Excellency Julin, confirmed Sweden's support to SADC in the energy sector, through the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE), which is a subsidiary institution of SADC hosted by Namibia to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency in the SADC Region. The Swedish support is aimed at promoting efficient and quality lighting, following the SADC Decision to phase out incandescent bulbs and inefficient lighting in the Region, to replace them with fluorescent bulbs and light emitting diodes (LEDs). The Ambassador said that during her tenure of office, she will endeavor to ensure that the region gets the necessary support in this area.
Dr. Tax thanked Sweden for her support, and took the opportunity to briefly present some of the Secretariat’s priorities. She explained that since the adoption of the Industrialization Strategy in 2015, the SADC region has continued to put industrialization at centre stage, as evidenced by the alignment of subsequent Summit themes with the SADC industrialization agenda. The Executive Secretary further explained that the theme of the 37th Summit of Heads of State and Government: partnering with private sector in developing industry and value chains builds on the Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap, and noted that energy is a very critical enabler to industrialization.
