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1. The 38^thOrdinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was held at Safari Court Conference Centre, in Windhoek, the Republic of Namibia, on 17^th and 18^th August 2018.

 

2. Summit was attended by the following Heads of State and Government and/or their representatives:

 

Angola:	H.E. President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço
Botswana:	H.E. President Mokgweetsi Masisi
DRC:	H.E. President Joseph Kabila Kabange
Mozambique:	H.E President Felipe Jacinto Nyusi
Namibia:	H.E. President Dr Hage G. Geingob
Seychelles:	H.E. President Danny Faure
South Africa:	H.E.  President Cyril Ramaphosa
Zambia:	H.E. President Edgar Chagwa Lungu
Zimbabwe:	H.E. President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa
Lesotho:	Right Hon Prime Minister Dr. Motsoahae Thomas Thabane
United Republic of Tanzania:	H.E. Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan
Eswatini:	Hon. Senator Paul Dlamini, Deputy Prime Minister
Comoros:	Hon. Mohamed El Amine Souef, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Corporation and the Francophone
Madagascar:	Hon.  Dovo Eloi Maxime, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Malawi:	Hon. Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations
Mauritius:	Hon. Mahen Kurmar Seeruttun, Minister of Agro Forestry and Food Security

3. Summit was also attended by H.E. Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, and the current Chairperson of the African Union.

 

4. H.E. Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax, the SADC Executive Secretary, H.E. Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), and H.E. Dr. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) were also in attendance.

 

5. Summit elected H.E. Dr. Hage G. Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia as Chairperson of SADC, and H.E. Dr. John Pombe Magufuli, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, as Incoming Chairperson of SADC.

 

6. Summit also elected H.E. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the President of Zambia as Chairperson of the         Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation, and H.E. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, as Incoming Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation.

 

7. Summit commended the Outgoing Chairperson of SADC, H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of the Republic of South Africa for his exemplary leadership during his tenure.

 

8. Summit endorsed the 38^thSADC Summit theme of ““Promoting Infrastructure Development and Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development”, as the 2018/19 Theme, which takes forward the SADC industrialization agenda, while focusing on infrastructure development, youth empowerment and sustainable development.

 

9. Summit approved the operationalisation of the SADC University of Transformation, in the form of a virtual university, to focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, commercialization, technology transfer, enterprise development, digital and knowledge economy, to support SADC Industrialization agenda.

 

10. Summit noted the progress in the implementation of the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2015-2020, and urged Member States to focus on implementing priority activities within the approved frameworks of the Revised RISDP, and their policy documents, including the Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap, Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan, the Regional Agricultural Investment Plan, and the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Cooperation.

 

11. Summit noted progress made in the implementation of SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063, and urged Member States to remain committed to the implementation of the SADC industrialization agenda, as the overarching priority for the region.

 

12. Summit reviewed the SADC regional economic performance, and urged Member States to scale up efforts aimed at diversifying their economies, improve domestic revenue collection mechanisms, and manage public expenditures.

 

13. Summit noted the overall decline in food production in the Region, for the 2017/18 crop season, and urged Member States to put in place measures to tackle food insecurity in the Region, while developing contingency plans to enhance drought preparedness, in view of the likelihood of adverse El Nino induced conditions during the 2018/19 cropping season.

 

14. Summit noted that, the Union of Comoros has deposited her Instrument of Accession, and commended the Union of Comoros for acceding to the SADC Treaty and becoming a full Member of SADC.

 

15. Summit reaffirmed SADC Position that the current African, Caribbean and Pacific negotiations and decision-making governance structure be maintained.

 

16. Summit urged Member States that have not yet signed and/or ratified the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement to do so, and urged Member States to expeditiously finalise the exchange of tariff offers, and pave the way for the implementation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA).

 

17. Summit endorsed the 23^rdof March, as the day for commemorating the Southern Africa Liberation Day.

 

18. Summit noted that the SADC Solidarity Conference with the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)/Western Sahara will be held in October/November 2018, to be hosted by the Republic of South Africa.

 

19. Summit noted progress in addressing SADC proposals on the ongoing Institutional Reform of the African Union, reiterated its commitment towards the reforms, and called for continued consultations with a view to addressing the outstanding issues. Summit mandated the Chairperson of SADC to fast track these consultations.

 

20. Summit thanked His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, and Chairperson of the African Union for accepting SADC’s invitation and for attending the 38^thSummit of SADC Heads of State and Government, and for his continued commitment and leadership towards the implementation of the AU Institutional Reforms.

 

21. Summit noted with concern that, despite a number of SADC initiatives in the Kingdom of Lesotho, progress on the implementation of the reforms roadmap, and national dialogue remains very slow.

 

22. Summit urged the Kingdom of Lesotho and all stakeholders to ensure that the National Leaders Forum, scheduled for 23-24 August 2018 takes place as planned, and called upon all stakeholders, including those who reside outside to participate.

 

23. Summit resolved not to entertain any further delays in the implementation of Reforms and National Dialogue, and called upon SADC Member States to take necessary measures against those with intentions to delay, or threaten to derail the Reforms and the National dialogue processes.

 

24. Summit urged the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho to put in place a program with clear milestones for the implementation of priority activities on the Reforms Roadmap and National Dialogue, while recognizing that the SAPMIL (SADC Preventing Mission in Lesotho) tenure end in November 2018, a report of which, is to be submitted to the Chairperson, of the Organ by 30^thOctober 2018.

 

25. Summit thanked H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and Facilitator to the Kingdom of Lesotho, supported by the Facilitation Team, for his continued facilitation in the Kingdom of Lesotho.

 

26. Summit commended H.E. President Joseph Kabila and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo for upholding the constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and noted that the Government of the DRC will continue to provide the necessary funding and logistical requirements to enable the conduct of peaceful and credible elections.

 

27. Summit commended the Government of Madagascar and political stakeholders for reaching an agreement that facilitated the appointment of the new Prime Minister H.E. Christian Ntsay, and the formation of a consensus Government, and urged all political stakeholders to ensure that the upcoming elections take place in a peaceful environment.

 

28. Summit commended H.E. Joaquim Chissano, Former President of Mozambique, and a SADC Special Envoy to Madagascar for his effective mediation efforts in the Republic of Madagascar.

 

29. Summit congratulated Member States that held elections since the last summit in August 2017, namely the Republic of Angola and the Republic of Zimbabwe, and congratulated His Excellency President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço and the Movement for the Popular Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party for winning the elections, and called upon all stakeholders in Zimbabwe to remain calm while the legal process regarding the outcome of the elections are being considered by the courts, and to respect the will of people of Zimbabwe.

 

30. Summit urged the international community to lift all sanctions against Zimbabwe, and support the Republic of Zimbabwe in her economic and social development efforts.

 

31. Summit commended H.E. João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, the President of the Republic of Angola and Outgoing Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security for his outstanding leadership in steering issues of the Organ during his tenure.

 

32. Summit approved the Declaration on Eliminating Malaria in the SADC Region to firmly place regional malaria elimination on the agenda of all Member States.

 

33. Summit noted that the tenure of Ms. Emilie Ayaza Mushobekwa, the current SADC Deputy Executive Secretary-Corporate Affairs, is ending in October 2018, and thanked her for the services rendered to the Secretariat and SADC.

 

34. Summit approved the appointment of Ambassador Joseph Andre Nourrice, from Seychelles, for the position of SADC Deputy Executive Secretary – Corporate

Affairs.

 

35. The Ordinary Summit was officially closed by SADC Chairperson, His Excellency President Dr. Hage G. Geingob, who thanked all the Heads of State and Government for attending the 38^thOrdinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government.

 

36. Summit expressed its appreciation to the Government and people of the Republic of Namibia for successfully hosting the 38^thOrdinary Summit and for their hospitality during the Summit period.

 

Done at Windhoek, Republic of Namibia, 18^th August 2018