South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) has described the ninth Southern African Development Community (SADC) Industrialisation Week, held at the Durban International Convention Centre, as demonstrating the “power of regional cooperation”. The event was a precursor to the forty-sixth SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government.
The Industrialisation Week also supported the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063. This had three elements – industrialisation, regional integration, and competitiveness.
“We will work closely with the SADC secretariat to develop a roadmap that will help translate the outcomes into concrete actions that create jobs, expand regional value chains and improve the lives of our people,” assured dtic deputy-director general of trade Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter. “We must consistently be mindful of the fact that sustainable industrial development cannot be achieved by governments alone; strong partnerships between governments, the private sector, development finance institutions, academia, research institutions and development partners remain essential for mobilising investment, supporting innovation and accelerating implementation of regional industrial priorities.”
