This archive report was first published on 21 June 2021.
On Wednesday, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will hold an extraordinary summit of heads of state and government in Mozambique's capital, Maputo, on June 21, 2021.
The meeting, chaired by Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi, will focus on regional integration, cooperation, and development, as well as addressing key issues such as terrorism, regional food and nutrition security, gender and development, and progress in the region's response to HIV/AIDS and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the summit, a meeting of the SADC standing committee of senior officials will be held on Monday, and on Tuesday, a meeting of the SADC council of ministers will take place.
‘Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi will chair the Extraordinary Summit in his capacity as the current chairperson of SADC,’ the block said Sunday in a statement.
The summit will also discuss the regional response and support to Mozambique in addressing terrorism, particularly in the northern Cabo Delgado province, where an insurgency has been ongoing since October 2017.
The attacks, linked to Islamic State militants, have resulted in the deaths of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure in the region.
As a mark of respect, Mozambique and several SADC member states have declared days of national mourning in honour of the late first President of the Republic of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda, who died on June 17, 2021.
The SADC flag and those of SADC member states will be flown at half-mast during the extraordinary summit in Maputo and the preceding meetings.
