The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Council of Ministers is set to convene next week in Harare, Zimbabwe, to assess the progress of the regional bloc’s integration agenda.
The meeting, scheduled for March 12 and 14 at Parliament of Zimbabwe in Harare, will be hosted by Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Amon Murwira, who currently chairs the SADC Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers, responsible for overseeing the function and development of SADC, will evaluate the implementation of decisions made during their meeting held in August 2024 and the 44th Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government, that took place in the same month.
The review will also focus on progress in the implementation of the theme of the 44th SADC Summit: “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustained Economic Growth and Development towards an Industrialised SADC.”
In addition to assessing past decisions, the ministers will review the SADC Annual Corporate Plan and Budget for the 2025/2026 Financial Year.
This review will consider interventions supporting key regional priorities outlined in the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030.
The RISDP covers six strategic priority areas: Peace, Security, and Good Governance; Industrial Development and Market Integration; Infrastructure Development in Support of Regional Integration; Social and Human Capital Development; and cross-cutting issues such as Gender, Youth, Environment and Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Management.
The council consists of ministers from each of the 16 SADC member states, typically from ministries responsible for Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Economic Planning, Finance, or Trade.
The council meets twice a year, in March and August.
Preceding the Council of Ministers meeting, several key preparatory meetings are scheduled to take place this week.
These include the review of the mid-term implementation of the RISDP 2020-2030 by SADC Senior Officials on Tuesday and Wednesday, the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials on Thursday and Friday, and the Finance Committee meeting on Saturday.
