The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have reinforced their cooperation to accelerate regional economic integration, industrialisation, and infrastructure investment, following a meeting held on Saturday, 10 October, in Gaborone, Botswana.
The meeting brought together senior officials and technical experts from the SADC Secretariat and an AfDB delegation led by Kennedy K. Mbekeani, Director-General of the institution's Southern Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office.
According to a SADC communiqué cited by the Mozambique Information Agency, the meeting aimed to deepen the partnership between the two institutions and align their respective development priorities under the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020–30 and the AfDB's regional strategy.
Discussions focused on market integration, industrial development, infrastructure expansion, and the mobilisation of sustainable financing for regional projects.
At the close of the meeting, SADC Executive Secretary Elias M. Magosi underscored the importance of transforming Southern Africa's natural resources into inclusive economic growth through stronger industrial capacity.
That strategy centres on increasing local processing of raw materials, enabling member states to produce higher value-added goods and reduce their dependence on exports of unprocessed resources.
Cooperation with the AfDB is also expected to support initiatives aimed at improving connectivity between member states, facilitating the movement of goods and services, and creating more favourable conditions for economic diversification.
The meeting formed part of the implementation of the RISDP 2020–30, the framework document that defines SADC's priorities for regional integration and socioeconomic development.
The gathering also served to align member states' priorities more closely with the AfDB's areas of intervention, at a time when Southern African countries are seeking to strengthen productive capacity and mobilise investment for regional development projects.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=551341
