SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi has urged member states to accelerate industrialisation, regional integration and investment in development as global economic and geopolitical pressures intensify.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) must become more self-reliant and strengthen regional integration as geopolitical tensions, conflicts and declining development assistance put pressure on the region, SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi has said.
Speaking at the official opening of the SADC Council of Ministers meeting in Durban on Wednesday, Magosi said the region was facing a changing global environment that required member states to work more closely to strengthen resilience and advance their own development agenda.
“While these developments pose challenges for the region, they also reinforce an important lesson we can no longer ignore, that the future of our region will increasingly depend on our ability to trust each other more and work together more, to strengthen regional resilience and drive our own development agenda, under our own terms,” Magosi said.
He said the position had informed the SADC Ministers of Foreign Affairs retreat held in Skukuza in May, where member states reaffirmed their commitment to deeper regional integration, collective resilience and sustainable development.
