SADC Executive Secretary Hosts High-Level Meeting with UN-ECA and BADEA Officials
His Excellency, Mr. Elias Magosi, the Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), convened a significant meeting at the SADC Secretariat in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 5th, 2024.
Joining him were Mr. Claver Gatete, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA), and Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).
The primary focus of the meeting was to foster collaboration, explore financing opportunities, and discuss concrete initiatives, with a particular emphasis on agricultural export markets.
The UN-ECA, established in 1958 by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), plays a pivotal role in facilitating the socio-economic development of the African continent.
Since 2014, UN-ECA has been actively supporting the SADC Secretariat in implementing various initiatives aimed at accelerating the region’s socio-economic transformation.
During the meeting, Mr. Magosi proposed several initiatives to enhance cooperation between SADC and its partners.
These include advancing the agenda of inclusive industrialization, collaborating on the implementation of the SADC Industrialization Action Plan, supporting member states in realizing the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and engaging in capacity-building initiatives.
Furthermore, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between SADC and BADEA on December 1, 2023, serves as a framework for cooperation in various development areas. These include industry, transportation, infrastructure, construction, energy, water, health, trade, agriculture, and investment.
Both parties have committed to jointly facilitating forums, seminars, exhibitions, and engaging key stakeholders and the private sector.
In line with this collaboration, plans are underway to convene a SADC-BADEA Investment Forum during the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government in August 2024 in Harare, Zimbabwe.
