PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has emphasised the importance of ensuring food security among member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The Tanzanian leader made the emphasis at the just concluded 42nd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of SADC, which was held in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to a statement issued by the Directorate of Presidential Communication yesterday, she as well urged countries in the regional grouping to invest in blue economy.
Speaking on gender equality in positions of leadership which has been agreed upon by members of the community, President Samia said Tanzania has made significant step in appointing women in strategic leadership positions.
Among the strategic positions occupied by women in Tanzania include ministers for defence, foreign affairs, investment, natural resources and tourism as well as speaker of the National Assembly.
During the summit, President Samia used Kiswahili in her efforts to promote the lingua-franca among the member states of the development community.
President Samia as well called for fast-tracking of adoption of Kiswahili language as the fourth official language of SADC in addition to English, French and Portuguese.
A total of 27 resolutions were passed during the two-day summit, which also saw President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) assuming the Chairmanship of SADC from Dr Lazarus Chikwera of Malawi.
In a related development, a communiqué issued after the summit welcomed establishment of the SADC Regional Counter-Terrorism Centre (SADC-RCTC) in Tanzania as an institution that coordinates counter terrorism activities in the region.
The summit urged member states to strengthen cooperation and information sharing on terrorism, radicalism and violent extremism.
According to the communiqué, the summit also approved appointment of former President of Tanzania, Mr Jakaya Kikwete, to chair the SADC's Panel of Elders (POE).
The former Tanzanian leader will be deputised by former Vice-President of Mauritius, Mr Paramasivum Pillay Vyapoory.
The panel of elders is a SADC structure with the mandate to facilitate prevention, management and resolution of significant inter and intra-State conflicts, and is supported by the Mediation Reference Group (MRG).
The two-day summit also received a progress report on the implementation of the mechanism in honour of SADC founders, and in recognition of their legacy and contribution to the region.
It as well mandated the Chairperson of the Organ to coordinate the process leading up to the unveiling of the statue in memory of the late President Julius Nyerere at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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The summit also handed over medals to family representatives of the nine respective founders of SADC, including Mr Madaraka Nyerere, who is the son of the late President Nyerere of Tanzania.
The Heads of State and Government who attended the meeting also expressed concerns and solidarity on the latest security developments in eastern DRC.
They mandated the Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ, supported by the Organ Troika of Force Intervention Brigade (FIB)'s contributing countries to engage the United Nations (UN) Secretary General on the margins of the UN General Assembly in September 2022, to explore all avenues to support efforts towards improving the security situation in DRC.
The communique said the summit also received updates on the security situation in Cabo Delgado province, in the northern part of Mozambique, and approved the extension of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) and its related processes.
It commended SAMIM Personnel Contributing Countries (PCCs) for their solidarity and sacrifice in supporting the Mission, and expressed condolences to the governments and families of the nine deceased SAMIM personnel who died in the theatre of operations.
