WINDHOEK- Several Heads of State of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are expected to arrive in Windhoek today ahead of the 38th SADC Summit tomorrow.
Namibia is hosting the 15-member regional summit which is running under the theme: “Promoting Infrastructure Development and Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development.”
It is unclear who among the SADC leaders will attend the summit.
But the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology yesterday said the heads of state will be arriving today from 07h45, 12h05, 15h45, 15h47, 17h30 and 21h25 at Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA).
However, the ministry said they do not have information on which heads of state will be arriving and at what particular time.
The official opening of the 2018 SADC summit is set for tomorrow when South African President, current SADC Chairperson, Cyril Ramaphosa, will hand over the SADC Chairperson’s Badge to incoming SADC Chairperson President Hage Geingob of Namibia.
During their three days here, the heads of state are expected elect a chairperson and deputy chairperson of the summit, and elect a chairperson and deputy chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
The regional leaders are also set to receive a report of the outgoing chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
Furthermore, the heads of state are to discuss the socio-economic situation in the region and the global economy as well as issues of gender and development, food security and HIV and AIDS in the region.
The heads of state are also set to approve the operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund and the SADC University of Transformation and consider the status on the Implementation of the Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap.
Furthermore, they will discuss issues of continental integration. These will include issues of the Tripartite and Continental Free Trade Area; Implementation of Free Movement of Persons in Africa; the AU Institutional Reforms and Post-Cotonou Agreement.
SADC countries are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, eSwatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The bloc has a combined population of over 257.7 million.
Established in 1992, SADC aims at regional integration and poverty eradication within Southern Africa through economic development and ensuring peace and security.