International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, is to lead a local government delegation to the 25th Ordinary Meeting of the SADC Ministerial Committee of the Organ (MCO) in Windhoek, Namibia.
The delegation includes the Minister of Police Bheki Cele and the Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.
Namibia currently holds the chairmanship of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation, supported by the outgoing chair South Africa and the incoming chair Botswana.
“The mandate of the Organ is to promote peace and stability in the SADC region as a prerequisite for the achievement of SADC objectives of socio-economic development, poverty eradication and regional integration,” said the department.
It said it was expected that the meeting – taking place from 20 to 21 July 2023 - will take stock of the work of the Organ and receive reports on the implementation of the decisions of the last MCO held in July 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa.
It will also reflect on the SADC Summit of the Heads of State and Government hosted in August 2022 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
The meeting will also receive reports from the Inter-State Politics and Diplomacy Committee (ISPDC) and the Inter-State Defence and Security Committee (ISDSC).
“The outcomes of the meeting will be presented at the Ordinary Summit of the Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation which will be held in August 2023 in the Republic of Angola.” – SAnews.gov.za
