ZIMBABWE is hosting two key SADC meetings in Victoria Falls starting today, bringing together ministers, social partners, and trade experts to tackle pressing regional issues.
The SADC Ministers of Employment and Labour and Social Partners meeting, and the SADC Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Co-operation Structures meetings, will run until Friday.
The programme shows that the SADC Ministers of Employment and Labour and Social Partners meeting will focus on critical labour and employment concerns, including unemployment, decent work, social protection, and labour rights.
It will be preceded by a meeting of Senior Officials responsible for employment and labour, who will be preparing documents for the ministerial meeting from today till Wednesday.
In a communique, the SADC Secretariat said: "The ministers will discuss various employment and labour related issues of importance to the SADC region."
Last year's meeting, held in Angola, noted that since adoption at the Summit in 2023, the SADC Protocol on Employment and Labour had been signed by the Republics of Angola and Malawi and the Kingdom of Eswatini.
They committed to undertake national consultations with a view to sign and ratify the Protocol during the period up to 2025, noting that the instrument will go a long way in promoting decent work, underpinned by inclusive and productive employment, respect for rights at work, enhanced social security and strong labour market institutions.
The SADC Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Co-operation Structures meetings aim to eliminate trade barriers and harmonise standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures among member States.
In a separate communiqué, the SADC Secretariat said the objective of the TBT meetings was to facilitate dialogue between institutions of member states dealing with standardisation, quality assurance, accreditation and metrology (SQAM) issues.
"It will be a platform for member States to track the implementation of the SQAM activities at national level as well as identify and resolve any potential TBT in the region.
"The meeting will also receive a report on the review of the TBT annex and deliberate on way the forward.
"The annual meetings will further review the activities performed by the Secretariat in support of Member States regarding the implementation of SQAM Programme in the SADC region," reads the communique.
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The SADC Protocol on Trade aims at liberalisation of intra-regional trade in goods and services, ensure efficient production within SADC, contribute towards the improvement of the climate for domestic, cross-border and foreign investment, enhancing economic development, diversification of the industrial base of the region and establishing a Free Trade Area.
Article 3 of the SADC Protocol on Trade calls for the elimination of barriers to intra-SADC trade through harmonisation of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures by SADC member States.
The meetings will be attended by the institutions that deal with standards development, scientific industrial and legal metrology, accreditation, development and enforcement of technical regulations, inspection, certification, and testing representing all SADC member States.
Regional and international organisations and cooperation partners involved in SQAM matters are also expected.
Zimbabwe is the Sadc Chair.
