"During the summit, the Heads of State and Government will address political, socio-economic, peace and security issues", says the Presidency of the Republic of Mozambique.
The SADC summit takes place in Luanda under the motto "Human and Financial Capital: Key Factors for Sustainable Industrialization in the SADC Region".
According to the Mozambican Presidency, the organization's political leaders should also discuss ways of "mobilizing joint efforts to strengthen regional integration in the face of the challenges the region is facing".
This year, Angola assumes the one-year rotating presidency of SADC, succeeding the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo).
In July, SADC decided to extend, for another year, the term of the Southern Africa Military Mission (SAMIM) which supports Mozambique in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado, a region that has been facing an armed insurgency with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
An assessment mission, consulted by Lusa, proposed the complete withdrawal of the Southern African military from Cabo Delgado by July 2024, noting that the situation in the province "is now calm", despite the risks prevailing.
In the recommendations, the assessment mission advises the gradual start of the withdrawal of SAMIM from December 15 of this year and the conclusion of the withdrawal on July 15, 2024, that is, one day before the end of the extension decided by the troika from SADC.
The military response with the support of foreign forces in Cabo Delgado began in July 2021 and, in addition to SADC member countries, includes Rwanda.
Several districts close to the gas projects have been liberated since the arrival of foreign forces, but new waves of isolated attacks have appeared in the south of the region and in the neighboring province of Nampula.
In nearly six years of rebel attacks, the conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.
SADC is an economic bloc formed by the Portuguese-speaking Angola and Mozambique, in addition to South Africa, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Swaziland, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
