The SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax met with Honourable Dr. Lieutenant General (Rtd) Sibusiso B. Moyo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe, on the 26 March 2018, in the margins of the SADC Council of Ministers meeting, in Pretoria, South Africa.
Honourable Moyo highlighted the vision of the new administration, in particular, the ongoing reforms geared towards the consolidation of the political transition and economic recovery in Zimbabwe. He stated that preparations for elections scheduled to take place this year were on course and that the country was looking forward to receiving technical support from SADC as and when required.
The Minister pledged support for SADC programmes and commitment to abide by SADC ideals, indicating that the industrialization agenda remains a key priority for Zimbabwe, in the quest to integrate SADC economies.
For her part, Her Excellency Dr. Tax welcomed the Honourable Minister and informed him that the Secretariat was looking forward to working closely with him, as a member of the SADC Council of Ministers. Dr. Tax assured the Minister that SADC remains committed to support the Government and people of Zimbabwe. She pointed out that SADC Pre-elections Observation Mission was deployed to Zimbabwe in March 2018, and that SADC will observe elections in Zimbabwe in line with SADC principles. H.E. Dr. Tax further thanked Zimbabwe for championing the industrialization agenda during their Chairmanship in 2014, and said a tremendous progress has since been recorded as evidenced by the job done in developing the costed action plan and profiling value chains in mining, pharmaceuticals and agro-processing sectors.
