The SADC Executive Secretary Her Excellency, Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax paid a courtesy call on the newly appointed Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation for the Republic of Botswana, Honourable Dr. Unity Dow on 6th August 2018. The Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation serves as the focal point for the Organ on Politics Defence and Security Cooperation for the Republic of Botswana.
Her Excellency Dr. Tax informed the Minister that the SADC region remains stable and peaceful, while efforts continue to support the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar, to return to political normalcy. The SADC Executive Secretary also updated the Minister on the Harmonised Elections in the Republic of Zimbabwe, and the upcoming elections in the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Madagascar, which the SADC region will be expected to deploy SADC Electoral Observation Missions to observe.
The SADC Executive Secretary briefed the Minister on the upcoming Council and 38th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government, to be held from 9th to 18th August 2018, in Windhoek, the Republic of Namibia, under the theme “Promoting Infrastructure and Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development”. She highlighted thatthe meeting will, among others, receive progress reports on the implementation of the SADC agenda and previous Council and Summit decisions, as well as, on the political and security situation in the region.
The Minister thanked Dr. Tax for her visit and recognised the good work the Secretariat is doing in facilitating implementation of SADC programmes and activities, with a view to achieving regional integration. The two parties agreed to meet at a later stage for a comprehensive brief on Organ issues.
