LILONGWE, Oct. 17 — A Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit on Thursday outlined steps to ease political unrest and to restore peace and stability in Madagascar.
The Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the SADC Organ Troika was held virtually on Thursday. The event was chaired by Malawian President Peter Mutharika, who is also the chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation.
Among other things, the summit endorsed the urgent deployment of a Technical Mission comprising Organ Troika Member States, and supported by the SADC Secretariat, to undertake an all-inclusive fact-finding mission to Madagascar by Oct. 22, 2025, and to report its findings to Mutharika by Oct. 31, 2025.
The summit also approved a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of a roadmap to end the crisis in Madagascar.
The assessment will be conducted by Organ Troika Member States with support from the Panel of Elders, the Mediation Reference Group, and the SADC Secretariat to identify outstanding issues and determine the assistance required by Madagascar to achieve full implementation.
The virtual summit also directed the SADC Secretariat to engage strategic partners, namely the Indian Ocean Commission, the African Union, and the United Nations, to ensure coordinated and complementary interventions in Madagascar.
The summit noted the urgency of restoring calm and promoting a conducive environment for constructive engagement in Madagascar. (Xinhua)
