Durban, South Africa — Today, Zimbabwe President, His Excellency President Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa formally handed over the Chairpersonship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa during the 46th Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government in Durban.
In his remarks, President Mnangagwa acknowledged the solidarity shown by President Ramaphosa and SADC Member States, which contributed to Zimbabwe’s successful bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
He called for accelerated regional self-reliance anchored on value addition, mineral beneficiation, agro-processing, skills development, innovation and technology transfer.
President Mnangagwa reaffirmed SADC’s solidarity with the Democratic Republic of Congo and paid tribute to former Acting President of Zambia, Dr. Guy Scott, and the late former President of Botswana, His Excellency Festus Gontebanye Mogae, for their contributions to regional integration.
He cited the Kazungula Water Project as an exemplar of successful cross-border cooperation and urged Member States to strengthen climate early-warning systems. He further called for expedited progress towards the completion of the SADC Standby Force headquarters.
In his closing remarks, President Mnangagwa congratulated President Ramaphosa on assuming the SADC Chairpersonship and appealed for continued commitment towards building a resilient, industrialised and self-reliant SADC region.
