Angolan President Joao Lourenсo have taken over the rotating chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on the 43rd summit of the organization, according to the communique of the event. Lourenсo succeeded the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi on this post.
In his acceptance speech, Lourenco noted the need to diversify the sources of funding for the implementation of projects and programs at national and regional levels. In the context, he called on the members of SADC to accelerate the operationalization of the organization's Regional Development Fund.
"I would like to take this opportunity to urge Member States to speed up the approval and ratification of the Agreement on the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund, an essential tool for attracting financial resources that are essential for the pursuit of the ambitious Regional Industrialisation Programme and, consequently, for the fulfilment of the SADC Regional Integration Agenda," the president said.
Moreover, the Angolan leader highlighted some aspects of the economic and social development that he plans to focus on during his presidency. For instance, he declared the commitment to increase human capital in the region, marking the preparation of the youth for the industrial revolution as the main issue.
"Our main challenge will be focused on the training and technical-vocational qualification of our young people, with a view to obtaining skills that facilitate access to employment and ensure that we are prepared to face the challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the digitalisation of our economies," he said.
Along with this, Lourenco identified the need to "seriously invest in electrification, in a considerable increase in energy production," as well as to "expand and interconnect [the Southern African countries'] road and rail networks, to guarantee greater maritime and air links between them."
Moreover, in the speech the Angolan President drew attention to some security problems in the region such as the situations prevailing in the east of the DRC and in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.
Earlier this week at the summit, the bloc members approved the deployment of troops to "restore peace and security" in the eastern DRC and has agreed to extend its mission in Mozambique for 12 months.
The SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) was deployed in July 2021 as a regional response to terrorism and acts of violent extremism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado and aims to restore security in the country.
As for the DRC, in early May, SADC members decided to deploy the troops in the country following the latest flare-up of the long-running conflict between the government forces and the March 23 Movement (M23 rebel group) over control of the country's North and South Kivu provinces.
The SADC Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government is an annual event and is attended by the delegations from 16 countries, who develop the overall policy direction of the bloc.
The trade and economic union of the countries of Southern Africa such as Angola, Botswana, Comoros, DRC, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe aims to strengthen political and socio-economic cooperation between member states and to ensure the security of the sub-region. The organization was established in 1980.