The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the European Union (EU) will convene a Ministerial Partnership Dialogue on 15 March 2025 in Harare, Zimbabwe, to discuss key areas of cooperation, including peace and security, human and sustainable development, climate change, trade, and investment.
This high-level engagement aims to strengthen relations between the two parties and assess progress in ongoing collaborative initiatives. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Honourable Prof. Amon Murwira, who currently chairs the SADC Council of Ministers, will co-chair the meeting alongside Honourable Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, representing the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission. The dialogue will provide a platform to review developments affecting regional and global stability, as well as economic cooperation between SADC and the EU.
A key focus will be on evaluating the implementation of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Indicative Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa (MIP SSA), which supports regional programs in peace and security, trade, market access, institutional capacity building, natural resources management, transboundary water governance, strategic corridors, agriculture, and digital transformation. The meeting will also celebrate the achievements of past cooperation agreements that have bolstered regional integration and economic reforms within the SADC bloc.
SADC will be represented by its “Double Troika” Member States, which include Zimbabwe (current Chair), Angola (former Chair), and Madagascar (incoming Chair), alongside the three countries leading the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Affairs: Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. The EU delegation will comprise high-ranking officials from the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission, the Government of Poland, as well as EU Ambassadors to Botswana, SADC, and Zimbabwe.
Preceding the ministerial session, SADC and EU senior officials will hold discussions on 14 March 2025 to lay the groundwork for the high-level dialogue. The SADC-EU Political Dialogue dates back to its launch in Berlin in 1994, where both parties committed to fostering a structured partnership.
The upcoming meeting follows a resolution made at the 2013 Ministerial Dialogue in Maputo, which established a framework for biennial high-level talks alternating between the SADC and EU regions.
