President says SADC

Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, on Monday in Maputo argued for a future of prosperity and welfare for the people of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), pointing out that the organisation should keep focus even in the face of difficulties. Nyusi spoke during the acceptance speech of the rotating presidency of SADC, which he assumed on Monday for one year, succeeding the president of Tanzania, John Magufuli, during the opening ceremony of the 40th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the organisation, which is held today in the Mozambican capital.

“We are confident that the set of decisions that will come out of this summit will propel our organisation to new levels of prosperity and well-being for which our peoples have always fought,” said Nyusi.

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SADC, he said, maintains the cohesion, and focus that guided its creation because of the pragmatism and vision that the founding leaders of the organisation were imbued with. The Mozambican head of state pledged his dedication to the exercise of the rotating SADC presidency for the success of the mission. “The Mozambican people are by nature resilient and hard-working, so we are committed to fulfilling this mission with dedication,” he said. Filipe Nyusi assured that he will be guided by the spirit of consultation with his counterparts in the region to guide the destiny of SADC over the next 12 months. The 40th Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government takes place under the motto “40 Years Building Peace and Security, Promoting Development and Resilience to Global Challenges”. SADC is an organisation made up of 16 member states and was established in 1980 as the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) and later, in August 1992, transformed into the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The organisation aims to promote the growth and socio-economic development of the region to assume a more competitive and effective role in international relations and the world economy. South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Essuatíni, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are the member states of SADC.