Southern Africa: President Pledges to Drive Deeper Economic Integration As South Africa Takes SADC Chair
He said the region must turn minerals into locally processed goods and create jobs as leaders open the 46th SADC Summit.
- On Monday, August 17, 2026, President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the 46th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community in Durban, KZN, urging leaders to accelerate economic integration and deliver the "dividend of economic liberation."
- This summit coincides with the 24-year anniversaries of the SADC Treaty and the African Union launch in Durban; Ramaphosa noted the region must give economic and social meaning to political liberation forged against colonialism and apartheid.
- Turning to economic transformation, Ramaphosa stressed the need to deepen industrialisation and build regional value chains, highlighting the SADC Free Trade Area, the Real-Time Gross Settlement System, and the Southern African Power Pool.
- Warning that development without peace is impossible, Ramaphosa emphasized collective action on stability; he commended regional cooperation during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Closing the session, the President urged leaders to move beyond declarations to tangible progress, declaring the region must "turn borders into bridges" and resources into industries across Southern Africa.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Chairing SADC: Ramaphosa explains his vision for a stronger SA
Chairing SADC should mean more than South Africa hosting meetings and shaking hands. President Cyril Ramaphosa wants it to deliver jobs, trade and growth. As South Africa takes over the SADC chair, Ramaphosa has set out a vision centred on regional integration. He sees stronger economic ties as essential to South Africa’s own prosperity. The 46th SADC Summit took place in Durban on 17 August. South Africa will now chair the organisation under a …
Southern Africa: President Pledges to Drive Deeper Economic Integration As South Africa Takes SADC Chair
[SAnews.gov.za] President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to use South Africa's chairship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to deepen regional economic integration and advance resilient, sustainable and inclusive industrialisation.
Industrialisation high on the SADC Summit agenda
Southern African leaders have agreed that industrialisation is key to the region’s success. Concluding the 46th Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government held over the weekend in eThekwini, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa said that, while it is important to accelerate the pace of industrialisation, it’s not an end in itself. “It is the means through which we must create jobs, expand productive capacity, beneficiate our minerals, stren…
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