Luanda – The Ministerial Committee of the Organ on Politics, Defence, Security and Cooperation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held an extraordinary meeting Wednesday, in the Republic of Namibia, under the slogan “Promoting peace and security in the Southern African Development Community region, ANGOP has learnt.
Angola was represented by the secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Esmeralda Mendonça, who heads a delegation that includes the secretary of State for National Defence Policy, José Maria de Lima.
The Angolan delegation includes the country’s ambassador to Namibia, Jovelina Imperial, senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and Veterans of the Homeland and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The meeting served to discuss the political and security situation in the region and to strengthen democratic processes and rule and law in the SADC region.
The opening session was chaired by the Namibian deputy prime minister and minister of International Relations and Cooperation as chairperson of the Ministerial Committee of the SADC Organ, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah congratulated the governments of Angola and Lesotho for the peaceful way in which they conducted their general elections this year.
The Namibian official stressed that the electoral processes demonstrate the will of the people within the democratic principles defended by the countries of the Southern African Development Community.
The meeting, held behind closed doors, also served to analyze the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in light of the M23 attacks, in a report of negative acts that endanger the security, stability, peace, and consequently the economic development of the region.
Regarding the situation in DRC, during the speech of the SADC Executive Secretary, read by the acting director Kealeboga Moruti, the SADC Political, Defence, Security and Cooperation Organ recognized the efforts of President João Lourenço as mediator of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kealeboga Moruti underlined the commitment of the Angolan State in the resolution of conflicts in the region and in the continent.
The Defence and Security Committee of SADC addressed the performance of the SADC Mission in the stability and security in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique that allowed the return of thousands of Mozambicans to their areas of origin.
The extraordinary meeting of the Security and Cooperation Council was preceded by the meeting of the SADC Chiefs of Defence and Security organs.
Namibia currently chairs the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, Security and Cooperation, responsible for promoting peace and security in the southern region.
SADC is a sub-regional integration organization, composed of 16 member states, namely, Angola, DRC, Eswatini, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, South Africa, Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana, which hosts the headquarters and Mozambique, which currently assumes the rotating presidency.
Source: Angola Press News Agency