The country has also won the vote of other Sadc countries
in its bid to join the United Nations
Security Council for a non-permanent seat from 2027 to 2028.
Former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs Dr Judith Kateera also took an oath of office after being appointed
Deputy Sadc Secretary responsible for corporate affairs.
The 43rd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government
agreed that Zimbabwe will represent the bloc as deputy chair until August 2024
after which it will take over the chairmanship.
Angola took over the chairmanship from Democratic Republic
of Congo while Zambia took over the chair of the Sadc Troika Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security Cooperation from Nambia.
President Mnangagwa said he was grateful for the honour
bestowed on Zimbabweans.
“First and foremost I feel happy that Zimbabwe has been
honoured with the vice chair of Sadc and we are going to host the next summit
in Zimbabwe.
“Besides that, we have discussed contributions by member
states and we believe that some of the contributions should be interrogated so
that we make it possible for member states to contribute for the smooth
operations of the secretariat.
“There are other difficulties that the member states are
facing and we agreed to address the issue of the two conflict positions in DRC
as well as Mozambique. Thirdly, heads of State wished Zimbabwe a peaceful
electoral process,” President Mnangagwa said.
Acting Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister
Professor Amon Murwira said by being chosen to host the 44th summit, Sadc had
recognised Zimbabwe as an important member of the region.
“His Excellency, the President Dr ED Mnangagwa took
advantage of the summit to apprise his colleagues of the preparations for the
harmonised elections in Zimbabwe on August 23, 2023.
“He assured his colleagues that observer missions have been
invited including the EU, AU, Sadc and the Commonwealth among many other
observer missions.
“He also extended an invitation to all our Sadc bodies,
including the Council of Elders, to come and observe our elections anytime they
wished to come and witness Zimbabwe’s democratic electoral processes,” said
Prof Murwira.
On Zimbabwe’s endorsement for candidature to UN Security
Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Ambassador James
Manzou said it was vital that Zimbabwe got the nod from the region.
“After the
endorsement by Sadc, we are now able to approach other bodies, for example the
African Union and beyond in terms of seeking support,” he said.
Former Botswana President Ian Khama was presented with a
Medal of Honour on behalf of his father,
the late first President of Botswana,
Sir Seretse Khama.
The Summit ran under the theme: “Human and financial
capital: The key drivers for sustainable industrialisation of the Sadc Region”.
The theme seeks to address two of the most critical
enablers in supporting regional industrialisation which have been identified as
adequate human resources and technical capacity.
Meanwhile President Mnangagwa returned home yesterday
evening. Herald
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