SADC TROIKA CHAIR TO MEET KING

MBABANE – Today, the Chair of the SADC Organ Troika, President Hage G Geingob will be expected to undertake a working visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini to hold consultations with His Majesty King Mswati III.

This was revealed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat through a press release issued yesterday afternoon.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Corporations Thulisile Dladla confirmed the matter, stating that she received the information that there would be private consultations between the heads of State. “I am not privy to the agenda,” said the minister. According to the SADC Secretariat press release, the working visit is informed by the commitment of President Geingob, to implement decisions of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.The SADC Organ Summit, that was held on August 16, 2022, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at which President Geingob assumed the role of Chairperson of the Organ, reinforced the need for the SADC Organ to work for a peaceful and stable SADC region.

Dialogue

It was mentioned that the decision to strengthen continued dialogue with the Kingdom of Eswatini was reinforced by the Organ Troika meeting, that was convened by President Geingob in Maseru, Lesotho on October 28, 2022, on the margins of the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister (PM), Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane of the Kingdom of Lesotho. Among others, the objective of the Maseru Organ Troika meeting was to review progress in the implementation of SADC decisions in the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Republic of Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The outgoing Chairperson of the SADC Organ, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, and the incoming Chairperson of the Organ, President Hakainde Hichilema, participated in the meeting. During the meeting in Maseru, the Troika of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, resolved that President Geingob would undertake a working visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini for political consultations with His Majesty King Mswati III, to discuss the implementation of SADC decisions on Eswatini.

Elders

According to the press release, since becoming chairperson of the SADC Organ in August 2022, President Geingob had been steering the affairs of the organ, commencing with meetings in New York with the Panel of Elders, Chaired by former President Jakaya Kikwete, of Tanzania on the margins of United Nations General Assembly, in September 2022; the supervision of the October 7, 2022 General Elections in the Kingdom of Lesotho, which were declared free and fair by electoral observation missions, leading to the inauguration of PM Sam Matekane on October 28, 2022.

Moreover, in pursuance of the objective of peace in the eastern DRC, the Chair of the Organ, President Geingob held telephonic consultations between October 30, 2022 and November 2, 2022 with the President of the DRC, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, including incoming Chair of the organ, President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia and outgoing Chair of the organ, Cyril Ramaphosa. The SADC secretariat stated that President Geingob will depart for the Kingdom of Eswatini today and will return to Namibia the same day.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: