Samia Leaves for Lilongwe’s SADC Summit

President Samia Suluhu Hassan is today expected to leave the country for Malawi where she will participate in the 41^th SADC Ordinary Summit of Heads of State which starts on the 17^th of August this year. A statement released by the State House Office in Dodoma on Monday said that the summit will be for two days, the 17^th and 18^th of August.

According to the statement among the activities that will be conducted during the meeting is to approve the President of the Republic of Malawi, Dr. Lazarus Chakwera as the new chairpersonship of SADC for a one year's term, August 2021 to August 2022. President Chakwera will be taking the chair from Mozambique President, Filipe Nyusi who assumed the assumed the Chairpersonship of SADC on the 17^th August, 2020 during the 40^th SADC Summit.

The Summit will also take stock of progress made in promoting and deepening Regional Integration in line with SADC's aspirations as espoused in the RISDP 2020-2030 and Vision 2050, which envisage a peaceful, inclusive, competitive, middle-to high-income industrialised Region where all citizens enjoy sustainable economic well-being, justice and freedom.

During the Summit, the Executive Secretary of SADC, Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax will bid farewell to the SADC Heads of State and Government after serving for 8 years and a new SADC Executive Secretary will be sworn in. Coincidentally, Dr. Tax was sworn in as the SADC Executive Secretary at the 33^rd SADC Summit which Malawi last hosted in Lilongwe in August, 2013.