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| Vice President of The United Republic of Tanzania, H.E Dr. Mohamed Gharib Bilal (R) represented President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete at Summit. |
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| Part of the delegates who attended the Summit listen the official opening statement from Chairman of SADC, H.E Mugabe. |
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| Part of Heads of State and Government who attended the Summit follow up the opening statement. Right is the President of South Africa, H.E Jacob Zuma |
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| A Cultural group entertains the Heads of State and Government and other delegates in the Conference hall. |
The story by Foreign Ministry's Staff.
Heads
of state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) today
adopted an Industrial Development Strategy to leverage the region's
resources for sustainable development The strategic plan and roadmap was
developed by a Ministerial Task Force mandated by the Heads of State
last August.
It is a three-phase programme emphasizing efficient use of resources,
value edition, diversification and competitiveness to propel the region
into a high tech industrial entity by 2063.
The summit directed secretariat to compile the requisite budget and the
Ministerial Council to prepare implementation plan. The Heads of State
also approved revision of the Indicative Regional Development Plan,
which now gives industrial development top priority.Development of
infrastructure, including energy, water, roads and railways and ICT is
ranked second while peace and security is third, followed by social
services.
The President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E. Jakaya Kikwete,
was represented by the Vice-President, Dr. Mohamed Gharib Bilal at the
Summit, which was attended for the first time by newly elected
Presidents Edgar Lungu of Zambia, Philip Nyusi of Mozambique, Hage
Geingob of Namibia and Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili. The
Summit chaired by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was also attended by
the President South Africa , Jacob Zuma, King Mswati of Swaziland and
Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth.
The Heads of State and Government Further endorsed a plan to inaugurate the tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA) combining the SADC, EAC and COMESA blocks in June.
They agreed that the creation of a continental FTA earlier scheduled for 2017 be pushed back to 2020.
In her remarks to the Summit, the SADC Executive Secretary, Dr.
Stergomena Lawrence Tax, said the Industrial Development Plan would
boost the region's gross product and income per capital.
Chairman Mugabe said member states should brace to finance the plan
because western countries were unlikely to help.
