After the successful holding of the SADC Industrialisation Week, which drew admiration from many including the SADC Secretariat, Zimbabwe will from tomorrow up to Sunday host senior officials and a Finance Committee Meeting of the regional bloc at the New Parliament Building in Mount Hampden.
The precursor programmes are part of the itinerary of the 44th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government that will be held on August 17 where President Mnangagwa is set to assume the chairmanship of the regional bloc.
This year's edition will be running under the theme: "Promoting Innovation to unlock opportunities for sustained economic growth and development towards an Industrialised SADC".
On their official website, the regional bloc explained that "the SADC Summit is responsible for the overall policy direction and control of functions of the Community", ultimately making it the policy-making institution of SADC.
"The Ordinary SADC Summit is held every year and is attended by Heads of State and Government from the 16 SADC Member States namely, Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is also attended by heads of continental and regional bodies as observers.
"The 44th SADC Summit will be preceded by meetings of the SADC Senior Officials and Council of Ministers who prepare the agenda for the Heads of State and Government. The SADC Council of Ministers oversees the functioning and development of SADC and ensures that policies are properly implemented," reads an advisory from SADC.
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"The Council consists of Ministers from each Member State, usually from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Economic Planning, or Finance".
The meetings that precede the 44th SADC Summit include the just ended seventh SADC Industrialisation Week which was held from July 28 to August 2 at the Harare International Conference Centre. The Senior Officials and Finance Committee Meeting follows and runs from August 8 to August 11 at the New Parliament Building.
The SADC Council of Ministers Meeting from August 13 to August 14 will be held at the New Parliament Building, followed by the SADC and BADEA Investment Forum on August 14 at the Harare International Conference Centre.
President Mnangagwa is also pencilled to preside over the SADC Public Lecture on August 15 at the University of Zimbabwe Diamond Lecture Theatre.
The SADC Organ Troika Ministerial Committee and SADC Organ Troika Summit on August 16 at the New Parliament Building will be the last on the agenda before the full Summit.
