Pretoria — The tiny island of Madagascar has been granted "candidate" membership of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for a year, during which it has to prove it can meet the obligations of the regional body.

"The Summit has considered the application for membership from Madagascar and decided to accord it 'candidate membership status' for one year.

"During which Madagascar will be expected to present to Council, through the Secretariat, a detailed time-frame and action plan indicating how it will meet its obligations, including the implementation of various SADC legal instruments," said SADC Executive Secretary Prega Ramsamy.

This was announced during the closing ceremony of the SADC Heads of State Summit that ended yesterday, in the resort island.

President of Madagascar Marc Ravalomanana expressed confidence that he would be able to meet SADC's obligations.

"I'm accepting this honour with humility and express my gratitude for all the SADC leaders. This is an important sign of unity. I accept this knowing that SADC will contribute towards the development of Madagascar," said President Ravalomanana.

The Summit also expressed its appreciation to South Africa for donating R1-million to the SADC HIV and AIDS Trust Fund.

On the issue of gender equality, the leaders noted with satisfaction that the overall regional situation indicated that member states were making progress in having 30 percent of women in Parliament and Cabinet posts.

"There is also a deliberate and gradual increase in the proportion of women representation in various structures in most member states," said the Summit communiqué.