Southern Africa: SADC and Germany Prepare for Upcoming Development Cooperation Negotiations

3 April 2025
Southern African Development Community (Gaborone)
document

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) convened a meeting on 03 April 2025 to prepare for joint bilateral negotiations on development cooperation scheduled later this year.

The meeting was co-chaired by Ms. Angèle Makombo N'tumba, Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration at the SADC Secretariat, and Ms. Luisa Bergfeld, SADC Desk Officer at BMZ.

In her opening remarks, Ms. N'tumba expressed gratitude to the German Government for its consistent support in advancing the SADC regional integration agenda. She emphasized the importance of bilateral meetings as platforms to review progress and foster collaboration on regional integration programmes under the framework agreements.

Ms. Bergfeld reaffirmed Germany's commitment to deepening cooperation with SADC, with a focus on advancing regional integration, sustainable development, and energy-related initiatives in the coming years.

Key updates were shared on SADC Regional Programmes being implemented under the SADC-German Framework Agreement on Development Cooperation. The discussions also highlighted programmes to be considered for support in future agreements.

The current Framework Agreement aims to achieve sustainable development through economic efficiency, social justice, environmental viability, and political stability--within the legal frameworks of both parties and for the benefit of the SADC region's people.

SADC and Germany have a longstanding partnership where they work together to advance regional development and integration, with current agreements focusing on key areas of:

Regional Economic Integration: Promoting industrialisation, trade, and infrastructure development, including support for the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) to harmonize trade policies across SADC, COMESA, and EAC regions.

Transboundary Water Management: Encouraging sustainable management of shared water resources.

Climate Resilience and Natural Resource Management: Addressing climate change impacts and supporting sustainable resource management.

Disaster Risk Management: Enhancing preparedness and response mechanisms for natural disasters.

Strengthening SADC National-Regional Linkages: Aligning national policies with regional strategies to ensure cohesive implementation of development goals.

This meeting underscores the enduring partnership between SADC and Germany, as they work together to advance regional development and integration.

Read the original article on SADC.

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