Luanda – The Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, defended on Thursday the need for SADC member states to combine synnergies so that the Southern African region can evolve to be more and more peaceful, developed, competitive and industrialised.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 43rd Heads of State and Government Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in Luanda, João Lourenço stressed that human capital has to play a central role in the region’s development strategy.
The Angolan Head of State, who took over the one-year rotating presidency of SADC during the same top level gathering, deemed it necessary for Southern African countries to work commitedly for the materialisation of the actions inscribed in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan.
The mentioned plan outlines a broad sustainable development agenda in the social, economic, political, governance and security domains.
Peace in the Region
As regards peace, security and stability in the region, João Lourenço made reference to the current situation in Mozambique, which he deemed “considerably more calm and stable”, greatly due to the entrance into action of the SADC Stand-by Force.
He reminded that the mission of the SADC contigent that is in Mozambique was recently extended for one more year, as a response to the positive results that have been achieved with such intervention.
He went on to say that stability in Mozambique will be “a key factor so that we can take the steps towards the attraction of the necessary support for economic and social reconstruction of the Cabo Delgado Province and, consequently, for the country”, underscored the Angolan statesman.
In relation to the situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), João Lourenço said that SADC shall continue to work in the search for the best paths to peace in that region, in close co-ordination and concert with the other existing mechanisms.
He also hailed the decision to send a SADC military reinforcement to eastern DRC for a twelve-month period.
João Lourenço emphasised that the final goal is to help DR Congo to find the best ways to stability, which benefits the region as well.
Speaking on Sudan, the SADC president highlighted that the organisation is worried about the prevailing situation in that country, since it has already caused thousands of human deaths, internal displacement, increase of refugees and the destruction of infrastructures.
In this context, the SADC leaders appealed to the parties in the conflict to put an immediate end to the armed confrontation and accept to negotiate a peaceful solution that can enable the reconstruction of the nation and its socio-economic development.
In regard to the events in the Sahel region, João Lourenço underscored that SADC is closely keeping track of the developments, paying special attention to possible acts of terrorism, and also to attemps of inconstitutional changes of governments through military action.
“We encourage all the efforts being made by the leaders of the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), aimed at restoring juridico-constitutional order in those countries (i.e under such inconstitutional state of affairs)”, João Lourenço emphasised.
The Russia/Ukraine Conflict
The Angolan statesman went on to state that SADC defends the immediate end of the Russia/Ukraine war, considering the consequences to world security, food security, energetic security and international trade.
“The weapons must be silenced and give room to diplomacy with the aim to avoid the escalation of the conflict or a possible nuclear confrontation (...)”, he underlined.
João Lourenço added that this and other conflicts happening in Africa and throughout the world, coupled with situations of drought affecting vast areas of the SADC region, as well as the appauling consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, among other factors, have been the main causers of the current crisis in food production worldwide.
AFL/AL/ADR /jmc
