The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will holdthe 24th virtual meeting of the Ministerial Task Force (MTF) and the 34th Committee of Ministers of Trade (CMT). These significant meetings will be chaired by His Excellency Mr. Rui Miguêns de Oliveira, Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Republic of Angola..
During the meetings, the Ministers receive a comprehensive update on the implementation of the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap (2015-2063). The update will cover the Strategy's pillars of Industrialisation, Competitiveness, Regional Integration, and Cross-Cutting issues. Additionally, the meetings will address the implementation and consolidation of the SADC Free Trade Area (FTA) focusing mainly on Angola's accession to the Protocol on Trade, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) accession to the Protocol on Trade, and tariff liberalization.
The Ministers will discuss the Draft Annex on Safeguard Measures and the Draft Amendment and Implementation Modalities of Annex VII.
In the area of customs, the Ministers will discuss the alignment of the SADC Protocol on Trade with selected measures from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), amendments to SADC Rules of Origin, and the alignment of Appendix I of Annex I of the Protocol on Trade related to Rules of Origin with the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Harmonized System 2022. On a related matter, the Ministers will deliberate on the implementation of the SADC Regional Authorized Economic Operators' (AEOs) Framework, the SADC Regional Customs to Business Framework, and the SADC E-Certificate of Origin (eCoO). Progress on the harmonization of customs procedures, processes, and documentation will also be reviewed, along with the development of the SADC Rules of Origin Verification Guidelines for the implementation of Annex I of the Protocol on Trade (Rules of Origin) Framework.
During the meeting, the Ministers will review the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures which will include a review of the TBT Annex and the SPS Annex and sustainability of the Southern African Development Community Accreditation Service (SADCAS).
Furthermore, the meetings will cover SADC regional coordination of the African Continental Free Trade Area and provide an update on the implementation of the SADC-Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Programme.
The meetings are expected to advance SADC regional cooperation and economic integration.
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The meeting schedule is as follows: Senior Officials-CMT will meet on 24 June 2024, followed by the Senior Officials-MTF on 25 June 2024. On the morning of 27 June 2024, the Committee of Ministers of Trade will convene, and in the afternoon, the Ministerial Task Force will hold its session.
For further information, please contact: Ms. Barbara Lopi | Head - Communication and Public Relations; prinfo@sadc.int
About SADC
SADC is an organisation of 16 Member States established in 1980 as the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC) and later, in August,1992 transformed into the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The mission of SADC is to promote sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development through efficient, productive systems, deeper cooperation and integration, good governance and durable peace and security; so that the region emerges as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy. Member States are Angola, Botswana, Union of Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
