Your Excellency, Dr Hage G. Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, and Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation;
Your Excellency Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, and Incoming Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation;
Your Excellency Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, and Outgoing Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation;
Right Honourable Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho;
Right Honourable Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini, representing His Majesty King Mswati III;
Honourable Didier Mazenga Mukanzu, Minister of Regional Integration and Francophonie, of the Democratic Republic of Congo, representing the Chairperson of SADC, His Excellency Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo;
Honourable Cristóvão Artur Chume, Minister of Defence in the Republic of Mozambique, representing His Excellency Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique;
Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of Namibia, and Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ;
Hon. Ministers and Deputy Ministers;
The Head of Mission and the entire SAMIM leadership;
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners;
Officials from SADC Member States; Chiefs of Defence Forces;
SADC Secretariat staff and staff from the Government of Namibia;
Members of the Media;
Ladies and Gentlemen; good morning!
First and foremost, I wish to express my profound gratitude to His Excellency Dr. Hage G. Geingob, and the Government of the Republic of Namibia for convening this Extraordinary SADC Organ Troika Summit. Let me express our appreciation, as the Secretariat, for the warm welcome, hospitality and excellent facilities placed at our disposal. I also wish to thank all Heads of State and Government and their representatives for making the time to attend this meeting. We are grateful for your presence today which is a clear commitment towards the attainment and maintenance of regional peace and security.
Your Excellencies, while our region remains generally stable and peaceful, we cannot stress enough that we need to remain vigilant against all emerging threats to this peace, our security and well-being of our citizens. Your meeting today will deliberate on critical matters that are of grave concern with the aim being to find lasting solutions and create a platform for sustained peace, security and stability of the SADC region.
The meeting will also receive briefings from our four sister countries, namely the Democratic Republic Congo, Kingdoms of Eswatini and Lesotho and the Republic of Mozambique, in order to assist the Summit to make informed decisions to effectively support these Member States.
Peace, security and political stability are the foundation for socio[1]economic development. It is for this reason that the region continues to pay particular focus on strengthening political cooperation, and enhancing democracy, good governance, the rule of law, human rights, and human security in line with the SADC Vision 2050.
To this effect, the region continues to register successes in consolidating democracy and good governance. I wish to take this opportunity to applaud the Organ Chairperson for his exemplary leadership in guiding the work of the Organ, including the deployment of the SADC Election Observation Missions in the Republic of Angola in August 2022, and the Kingdom of Lesotho in October 2022, leading to successful elections and peaceful transfer of power in both countries.
Additionally, SADC has also strengthened the SADC Mediation, Conflict Prevention and Preventative Diplomacy Structure to ensure long lasting solutions to SADC’s political and security challenges. In this regard, the SADC Summit of August 2022 appointed new members of the Panel of Elders (PoE) and Mediation Reference Group (MRG), with the mandate to foster political and security stability in the region through the prevention, management and resolution of significant inter-state and intra-state conflicts.
As I conclude, Your Excellencies, I wish to reiterate that, through your sound leadership, SADC remains committed to addressing the political and security situation in the region. We recognise that without peace and security in our region, it will be difficult to focus on the implementation of our regional strategies and priorities as well as attain the SADC Vision 2050. All the wonderful aspirations stated in the two documents will remain a pie in the sky should we fail to truly secure the region.
Your Excellencies, with these few remarks, it is now my humble and distinct honour to invite His Excellency Dr Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, to deliver his opening remarks.
I thank you!
Merci beaucoup!
Muito obrigado!
Asante Sana!
Tanki Unene!
