At the meeting, which took place against the backdrop of the "40 Years Building Peace and Security, Promoting Development and Resilience to Global Challenges", the various Heads of State and Government discussed, among various subjects, the economic challenges, peace and security and also the instability caused by the covid-19 pandemic.
Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique - a country that took over the rotating presidency of SADC this Monday and in which he will remain for the next 12 months - took the opportunity to state that the fight against terrorism is a common need of SADC countries, pointing out the imperative of regional cooperation in the fight against extremism.
During the summit, he stressed "the need to strengthen cohesion and cooperation among the member states of the community in preventing and combating cross-border crime, with a focus on terrorism, in its various forms and manifestations", said Nyusi.
The Mozambican head of state said SADC needs to ensure peace in order to achieve social and economic development.
"The discussions around the agenda items [of the summit] also underlined the binomial of peace and development," Nyusi stressed.
SADC is an organisation comprised of 16 member states and was established in 1980 as the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) and later, in August 1992, transformed into the Southern African Development Community.
The organisation aims to promote the growth and socio-economic development of the region with the objective of assuming "a more competitive and effective role in international relations and the world economy".
South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Essuatíni, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe are the SADC member states.
