SADC Heads of States arrive on Thursday for summit

WINDHOEK, 15 AUG – Heads of States and Governments will start arriving on Thursday at the Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) for the 38th Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Summit.
This was announced by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology on Wednesday.
The two-day Summit, which will commence of Friday and conclude on Saturday, will review the progress made towards regional integration and socio-economic development.
The Summit will be held under the theme ‘Promoting infrastructure development and youth empowerment for sustainable development.’
The Summit was preceded by a series of meetings which include the meeting of the SADC Council of Ministers from each of the Member States usually from the ministries of foreign affairs, economic planning or finance.
Other meetings that took place prior to the Summit include the SADC Human Resources and Administration Committee, the Audit Committee, and Finance Committee, whose deliberations informed the discussions of the Council of Ministers and the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials.
SADC’s outgoing Chairperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa on Friday will deliver the SADC Day Message for 2018.
Among the issues to be discussed during the Summit are the issues of Continental Integration which include the Tripartite and Continental Free Trade Area; Implementation of Free Movement of Persons in Africa; the African Union (AU) Institutional Reforms and Post Cotonou Agreement.
The Summit will receive a report on the operationalisation of the 37th Summit’s theme, which was “Partnering with the Private Sector to Develop Industry and Value Chains”.
Other activities during the Summit will be the election of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the organ on politics, defense, and security cooperation, while it will also receive a report from the outgoing Chairperson on politics, defense and security cooperation.
Ramaphosa will also hand over the SADC Chairpersonship to Namibian President, Hage Geingob on Friday.
NAMPA