We must achieve a more dynamic and committed approach, ‘with a view to strengthening our political commitment and mobilizing the will to contribute to progress in areas whose results are positively reflected in the improvement of the general living conditions of our populations’, he said.

Lourenzo affirmed that the SADC region made remarkable progress in implementing regional cooperation and integration priorities, however, the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and situations of instability in some countries had a negative impact on that purpose.

This was compounded by difficulties in accessing financial resources on affordable terms, a problem that limits the implementation of projects in areas crucial to changing existing poverty indicators in member countries, he said.

‘None of the plans, objectives and programs we have outlined can be achieved effectively and with the positive results we all want if we do not make a coordinated effort to eliminate the conflicts, instability and insecurity that discourage investment’, he stressed.

He assured that Angola, in its capacity as chair of SADC, will continue to develop actions with a view to the future realization of the bloc’s Vision 2050, which envisages a region with political and social stability, peace and economic development, justice and freedom for its citizens.

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