Oh my god. I'm going to sleep after this. I need to respond quick. from Pennsylvania. But the studio Heat. Heat. Keep going. Put that movie this way. That's it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Another one. >> There's another one. >> Another one. Not bad. >> All right. Yeah. Get award. Thank you. How you done? You take this picture now. >> Yes. >> Yeah. As I welcome you, the ATV is here. always. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Heat. Heat. What is Good morning brother. >> Good morning brother. Yes. You want to greet the president? Young. >> Okay. Now the good My Sister. >> Yes. >> How are you my sister? >> How are you? >> I'm very well. >> Good to see you. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> You want to take a picture with me? >> With with me here. Thank you. We'll see you inside. How are you? Very well. Welcome. Mr. President, >> how are you? >> Very well. How are you? Welcome. They want to take a picture of you rather than me. Thank you. Mr. President, how are you? They like taking pictures. >> Excellencies. >> Excellencies. >> To your right. One step to your right. Thank you. >> Who's that? Auntie, >> good morning. >> Good morning, Mr. President. How are you? >> Very well. How are you? Come. Let's take a nice picture. My brother. >> Morning my brother. How are you? >> Wonderful. >> Always wonder. >> Thanks so much. Who are you? >> For a long time. >> Yes, it's been a while. >> They don't know you've been around for years. I can look at your head. It's unbelievable how quickly Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. What are you doing? Right in the middle, please. I want precisely the background. What's this side? Thank you. Thank you. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, shall we rise for the entrance of their excellencies into the meeting hall? I think their excellencies were just finishing their family photo. They should be walking into the room very soon. As their excellencies walk in, we will all remain standing. We can see the media coming in. I think their excellencies were just finishing their family photo. They should be walking into the room very soon. Will be done as follows. will begin with the anthem of the Republic of South Africa followed by the anthem of the Southern African Development Community and the anthem of the African Union in that order. And the anthems will be performed by the South African National Defense Force Choir accompanied by the South African Navy Band. Thank you. Shall we put our hands together to welcome their excellencies, His Majesty, as they walk into the hall? We'll remain standing until all their excellencies are on their stations. We'll remain standing for the anthems once all their excellencies are on their stations. Thank you. We may now proceed with the anthems. We may proceed with the anthem starting with the anthem of the Republic of South Africa followed by the Saddic anthem and the anthem of African Union. Thank you. Let me eternal even save her. S of som. So lovely for him. together. Let us live forever. All of was sent to the homeless towards him of humanity. Let us praise the worship of the host. is Lord of the 17 is wonderful. for our liberation. Let us dedicate ourselves to rise together. Design it. Technology can leapfrog development not into tomorrows manufactured elsewhere but back to the understanding that we have always been architects activating the world together. Angola where the Atlantic receives the memory of kingdoms. Botswana where the Okavango turns desert into abundance. Koros perfumed islands stitching Africa to the Indian Ocean. Democratic Republic of Congo. Heart of the forest. Minerals powering the digital age. Esatini where ceremony carries the dignity of continuity. Loto mountain kingdom lifting water to Malawi where the great lakes gather communities on its shores. Maitius where continents meet and become possibilities. Mosmbique long coastline. It remembers the footprints of the first to guard its oceans. South Africa, many languages, one unfinished journey towards belonging. Tanzania, where where Kiswahili carries African thought across borders. Zambia, one shore of Musiwatuna, the smoke that thunders Zimbabwe. The other shore, an ancient civilization of stone. Sadic. 16 nations, one region. Many ways of carrying light, relatives remembering each other. The land activated us. We activated the land. And now today we remember together. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Hey, are you Are you hurry? San Bonani. San Bonani. San Bonani. Come over my They will say Sh my shama. Can I keep up with your I'm sleep now. I am. Now people hey, I am. An excellent depiction of our heritage and who we are as a people. Your majesty, your excellencies, distinguished guests, good morning. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the opening ceremony of the 46th ordinary summit of the Southern African Development Community of Heads of State and Government. I am Ambassador Mason and Miss Barbara honored to coct the proceedings for this auspicious occasion, the 46th under the theme resilient, sustainable and inclusive industrialization through infrastructure development, agricultural and critical minerals transformation. of a just world. Your excellencies. Thank you, Ambassador, your excellencies, your majesty, distinguished delegates. A happy sad day to you all. Today, August 17, on this day in 1992, our regional community Southern African Development Community was transformed into a community and we are commemorating this day. I'm not going to empty the speeches of our principles. But allow me at this point just to recognize their excellencies, heads of states and representatives who are in our midst this morning. From the kingdom of Isatini, we welcome his majesty king II. Thank you. From the Republic of South Africa, we welcome his excellency, President Matamera Surio Ramaposa, our gracious host this morning from the Republic of Zimbabwe. We welcome his excellency president Dr. Emerson Damuso Munangua the president from the repo the president from the republic of Namibia we welcome her excellency Dr. Nandi the president from the Republic of Mosmbique. We welcome his excellency the president Mr. Daniel Francisco Chapo from the Republic of Maicius. We welcome honorable Dr. Navidi Chandra Ramolan, Prime Minister from the Republic of Madagascar. We welcome his excellency kennel Michael Randrian, the president of the reoundation of the Republic of Madagascar. From the kingdom of Loto, the kingdom in the sky, we welcome the right honorable Mr. Samuel Machani, Prime Minister from the Republic of Malawi. We welcome the right honorable Mr. Enoch Kazingeni Chihana, the second vice president of the Republic of Malawi. From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we welcome his excellency Mr. Guy Kabombo Mandi Avita, Deputy Prime Minister and also Minister of National Defense and Veterans from the Republic of Angola. We have his excellency um his excellency ambassador tete Antonio the minister of external relations of the republic of angola from the United Republic of Tanzania. We welcome honorable Dr. Moanso, Minister of Defense and National Service of the United Republic of Tanzania. From the from the Republic of Zambia, we welcome her Excellency Miss Pamela Chisanga, Zambia's High Commission to the Republic of Botswana and Sadic representatives. from the Republic of Seell. Sorry, I omitted his excellency in the order of presidents. My apologies. We have his excellency the president Dr. Matthew Antonio Hime from the Republic of Seells. on the front row. I would also want to recognize and welcome the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations for the Republic of South Africa, Minister Ronard Ramola, the chairperson of the Saddic Council of Ministers. I recognize the executive secretary of SADIC, his excellency Mahosi. I recognize the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Dr. Clever Gate. In our mids, we would also like to recognize our distinguished invited guests from the we have the representatives of the African Union Commission, the representative of the African Development Bank. We have the president of the Arab Bank of Economic Development in Africa, Badier. We have the director general of the Africa CDC. We have the secretary general for Saddic Parliamentary Forum, the CEO for Auda Nepard and uh representatives of regional economic communities and we would also want to recognize members of the diplomatic call that have been invited and of course their first spouses in our med. Shall we Let us applause for the first spouses including the first gentleman. Thank you. Thank you Barbara, your majesty, your excellencies. We also have special guests that are also grazing the opening ceremony with us this morning. Miss Tokco Diza in our midst chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Miss Rifil Trainy Zipani also invited the host province Premier of Quazulu Natal Province Mr. Tammy Tuli, ministers, deputy ministers and members of the executive councils that are also in our midst this morning. Um, His Majesty King Mrs. Zulu Kellentini also invited to grace the occasion this morning. Members of parliament, members of the diplomatic CP, the executive mayor of Itquini municipality, councelor Vusi Gaba. Thank directors general, business and organized labor present this morning. >> Thank you. So in line with our program for this morning, we now going to have welcome remarks from the executive secretary of Saddic, his excellency, Mr. IAD Mahaltis. Your excellence, you may come to the podium and deliver your welcome introductory remarks. Please bear with me as I activate the technology. Thank you. Finally, we are there. Thank you very much, our directors of ceremony. Your majesty Kimi of the kingdom ofi and incoming chairperson of the saddak organ on politics defense and security cooperation your excellency Mr. Mamela Raposa president of the republic of South Africa and the chairperson of sik your excellency Dr. of Nanga, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and outgoing chairperson of Sar. Your Excellency, Professor Arthur Peter, President of Republic of Malawi and the chairperson of the Sak organ represented today by the right honorable Mr. Enoch Jana the second vice president of the Republic of Malawi. Your excellency Dr. Samir Sulu Hassan President of the United Republic of Tanzania and outgoing chairperson of the Sakan represented by honorable Dr. Remo Yanso the Minister of Defense and National Service of the United Republic of Tanzania. Your esteemed excellencies, heads of state and government, honorable Mr. Ronald Lamola, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa and the chairperson of the Council of Ministers, all honorable ministers and deputy ministers from the Saddak region and elsewhere, representatives from international continental and regal organizations as well as our colleagues from the regional economic communities. Your excellencies, members of the diplomatic corps, the premier of Bazulu Natal, your worship, the mayor of Tini, senior officials of Sic member states, my colleagues, the deputy executive secretaries, distinguished invited guests, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen, good morning to you all and a happy sad day to you. It is with a distinct honor and a sense of great a great sense of humility that I welcome you to the 46th summit of heads of state and government of the southern African development community or sadic convened here in the vibrant city of Devon in this great republic of South Africa. At the outset, allow me to express our profound gratitude to his excellency President Matamela Sir Raaposa, the government and the people of the Republic of South Africa for graciously hosting this summit. We deeply appreciate the warm hospitality, excellent arrangements and generous uh hospitality and gen generosity extended to all delegates and guests. We are especially privileged by the presence of their excellencies as of state and government whose leadership, vision, and unwavering commitment continue to guide our community in advancing regional integration, peace, stability, sustainable development, and our shared prosperity. I also extend a warm welcome to our cooperating partners, some of who are amongst us today, representative, continental and international organizations, members of the diplomatic CP and all our distinguished guests gathered here today. Your presence reflects the strength of our partnership and our collective uh determination to advance the aspirations of the peoples of our regional community. It also solidifies and strengthens our cooperation and mutual benefit as we bring value to the region and to our citizens especially. Your majesty, excellencies, as we gather today and commemorate the Saddak day, we celebrate a remarkable journey of solidarity, resilience, and transformation. For more than four decades, SADC has demonstrated the enduring value of regional cooperation in promoting peace and security, expanding trade and investment, strengthening infrastructure connectivity, deepening regional integration, and improving the lives of our citizens. We pay tribute to the founding leaders whose courage, foresight, and commitment to regional solidarity laid the foundations of our community. Their legacy continues to inspire our efforts as we work together to build a stronger, more integrated, peaceful, and prosperous southern Africa. I believe that ours today is to sustain this legacy. if not to enrich it as we carve new and progressive chapters in pursuit of a shared prosperity. From its beginnings as a movement for regional cooperation and liberation, SADC evolved or has evolved from a liberation focused cooperation into one of Africa's most dynamic and resilient regional communities. Today, our region is home to approximately 382 million people and a combined gross domestic product exceeding 847 billion United States dollars. These achievements are a testament to the transformative power of unity, of partnership, and of collective action. Our progress has been made possible by a foundation that remains indispensable and that is peace and stability. The relative peace and stability enjoyed across our region reflects the commitment of member states to choose dialogue, diplomacy, democratic governance, conflict prevention and peaceful resolution of disputes. These are rare attributes in most parts of our continent and should be gathered jealously to sustain the peace we are enjoying today. Yesterday, the troa summit of the SDK organ on politics, defense and security cooperation reviewed political and security developments across the region, including the situations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the republics of Madagascar and Mosmbique. This has reaffirmed our shared responsibility to safeguard peace, security and stability as essential pres requisites for sustainable development and regional integration. Your majesty, excellencies, the situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo remains a matter of concern. We welcome the progress reported through diplomatic engagements and the Africa Africanled peace initiatives. We trust that these initiatives bear fruits of peace of coexistence, social harmony and economic progress rather than reverse the gains already achieved by previous interventions. SADC remains steadfast in its solidarity with the government and the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo and reaffirms its commitment to supporting efforts to restore peace, protect civilians, and create conditions conducive to sustainable development. We also extend our solidarity to the government and the people of the DRC as well as they contend with the Ebola outbreak. Our heartfelt condolences go to the families and communities who have lost loved ones. Our deep appreciation goes to the dedicated uh health care workers who continue to sacrifice their very own lives to serve and save others. and to our partners including the Africa CDC, the World Health Organization among many others for coordinating and supporting the response efforts. This outbreak however is a stark reminder of the importance of strengthening regional cooperation in health security, disease surveillance, preparedness, and coordinated and swift response as a community. SADC remains committed to supporting member states in building resilient health systems capable of effectively addressing current and emerging public health challenges. We are equally encouraged by the positive dialogue taking place in the Republic of Madagascar through efforts of the Saddic Secretariat, the panel of elders and the mediation reference group. Such efforts continue to strengthen trust, consensus building and inclusive governance. Your Majesty, excellencies, our region is also affected by the frequent and rapidly changing global environment which is characterized by economic uncertainty, climate related challenges, technological transformation and shifting geopolitical realities. These occurrences are increasingly reminding us of why we exist as a committee and why we must expedite our own integration. We now realize that we can no longer depend on others elsewhere but on ourselves. That we need each other more and must depend on each other more and so must trust each other more equally. an increasingly interconnected world. In an increasingly interconnected world, no country can realize its full potential in isolation. Our strength lies in working together, trading together, investing together, and building together. Your excellencies, I believe that we have a duty to create this reality and future for ourselves. As the global economy transitions towards clean energy, digital technologies and advanced manufacturing, SAD is uniquely positioned to play a strategic role. A strategic role. The region is endowed with abundant reserves of critical minerals including platinum group metals, lithium, cobalt, graphite, manganesees, rare earth elements and copper. All of which are essential to the industries of the future. Our ambition must be to move beyond the export of raw materials and position saddak as a globally competitive center for beneficiation, value addition, manufacturing, innovation and indeed the industrialization we are pursuing. However, the challenge for us as a region is not a lack of these resources, nor is it that we don't know their potential to transform our economies and change our fortunes. It is not even that we have not talked about them in the past and made commitments to change the trajectory. The challenge is when do we stop them transporting them in raw form and start adding value to them and creating sustainable jobs and wealth. Once more we do not need permission from anyone to start this process. Let us start now. Majesty, excellencies, industrialization remains central to achieving structural transformation, economic diversification, job creation, poverty reduction, and improved living standards. However, industrialization cannot succeed without modern and reliable infrastructure, robust and sustainable energy systems, refreshed and reliable transport networks, ports and logistics platforms and cost effective digital connectivity are indispensable enablers of industrialization and ultimately competitiveness and economic growth. Agriculture also remains a cornerstone of many of our economies and a source of livelihoods for millions of our citizens. Despite climate related changes, member states continue to invest in irrigation mechanization, climate smart agriculture, improved seat systems and agro processing. These efforts have strengthened resilience and contributed to improvements in food security across the region and to the reduction of food insecurity by 16%. To fully unlock the potential of agricultural sector, we must continue investing across its entire value chain from production and processing to storage, transport and to market access. Doing so will enhance food security, create jobs and drive inclusive growth. This vision that I just painted is reflected in the theme of this summit which reads and I quote resilient, sustainable, inclusive industrialization through infrastructure development, agricultural and critical minerals transformation in pursuit of a just world. end of quote. It captures the aspirations of our region and underscores the importance of building resilient economies capable of creating opportunities for all. Your Majesty, excellencies, the success of our region will depend largely on its people, particularly our youth. As technological changes accelerate accelerates and our economies and economies become increasingly knowledge driven, it is imperative that our young people are equipped with the skills, education and opportunities necessary for them to thrive. Investment in quality education, technical and vocational skills development, digital literacy, innovation, entrepreneurship, science and technology must therefore remain among our regional priorities. We must create an enabling environment that empowers young women and men to participate meaningfully in economic transport transformation. Supporting youth led enterprises, expanding access to finance and technology and creating pathways to decent employment will be critical to our long-term success. We therefore at this juncture wish to extend our congratulations to his excellency president Matamea Sir Raapos and his team led by honorable PS DA the minister of trade industry and competition on the successful hosting of the 9th SAD industrialization week. Over the years, Saddak Industrialization Week has become the region's premier platform for dialogue between governments, the private sector, investors, innovators, and development partners. The recommendations emerging from this year's edition should help the region implement the Saddic Industrialization Strategy and promote. Over the years, the Sarak Industrialization Week has become the region's premier platform for dialogue between governments, the private sector, investors, innovators, and development partners. The recommendations he mentions from this year's edition should help the region implement the SIC industrialization strategy and promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth. As we celebrate this, a region that is united in purpose, resilient in the face of challenges, and steadfast in advancing the prosperity and dignity of all its people. We should build a sadd where peace prevails, economies grow, industries flourish, trade expands, and young people thrive and opportunities reach every community. On behalf of the S secretariat, I wish to congratulate his excellency president Mamela Sama as he assumes the chair of SAD today. We pledge our full support. We pledge our full support and unwavering commitment to facilitate his excellency to execute his mandate effectively and successfully. We are confident sir that under your decorated leadership SAD will continue to advance his vision of a peaceful, resilient, industrialized, prosperous and integrated southern Africa. We extend our appreciation to our member states, cooperating partners, stakeholders and citizens whose support and continuous uh contributions continue to strengthen our community and brings us closer to our shared vision of a peaceful, prosperous and integrated southern Africa. We also extend gratitude to the dedicated staff of the SE secretarian led by my two deputies for their professionalism, expertise and commitment to implementing summit decisions especially in advancing the regional integration agenda. Your majesty excellencies, I wish you fruitful deliberations and every success in this summit today. I thank you for your attention. Mercy. Thank you, your excellency, executive secretary, Mr. Mahosi. Your majesty, your excellencies, I now have the honor to call to the podium his excellency Mr. Matamela Sel Ramaposa, President of the Republic of South Africa and host of the 46 ordinary SEC summit of heads of state and government. Mr. President, >> your majesties, your excellencies, heads of state and government, ministers and deputy ministers amongst us, officials of our government and in our case the premier mayor of our province here in Guazerunat and the mayor of Teeuini Metropolitan Municipality. I greet you all and extend the greetings of the people of South Africa and welcome you warmly. Executive Secretary, thank you for all the accolades that you shower me with. But when you said I'm decorated, I started looking at myself to see whether I'm decorated this morning and I just saw myself wearing a normal simple tie. So you overdo it a little when you say decorated. We welcome you to our country, to the province of Guazulunatal and to the beautiful city of Derban. You have come not as strangers or as visitors, but as brothers and sisters, as partners, and as fellow custodians of a shared Southern African destiny. And we do hope that during your visit and time here you will experience the warmth, the friendship and the hospitality of the people of South Africa. Your majesties, your excellencies, we meet in a city that occupies a very special place in the history of African unity. It was here in Durban 24 years ago that the African Union was officially launched. That historic gathering marked Africa's determination to move from the struggle against colonialism and aparate towards a new era of their colonial cooper at the confluence of two defining moments in Africa's history. The establishment of these anniversaries are more than dates on a calendar. They remind us of the vision, the courage and the determination of those who came before us, our forebears and our founders. They also challenge us to ask whether we are moving with sufficient speed and purpose to realize the Africa that they envisaged. The African Union was born out of the conviction that Africa's future would be secured through cooperation, integration, and unity. That vision is embodied in agenda 2063 and in its aspiration for an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa driven by its own citizens. As Saddak, we embraced that vision. We gather at this summit to give practical meaning to its promise to transform borders into bridges. national economies into a shared market and geographic proximity into shared prosperity. At the outset, I wish to express our appreciation to my elder brother, his excellency, President Emerson Damud Nangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and outgoing chairperson of Saddak. We thank you, President Nagwa, for your leadership and stewardship of our community. You have led us well in the previous period. We particularly appreciate the spirit of partnership with which Zimbabwe worked with South Africa during the period of in interim leadership. Zimbabwe's support to co-hosting sectoral ministerial meetings helped to ensure continuity in the work of our community. We likewise acknowledge Zambia, the members of the troa and the saddak secretariat and all member states for the cooperation and collective leadership they have demonstrated. The story of Saddak is a story of the triumph of solidarity over division and adversity. Before we became a development community, we were a community of solidarity. The peoples of this region stood together against colonialism, against minority rule, and against aparate. The countries of Southern Africa endured aggression, destabilization, and immense economic hardship because they understood that no country in this region could be truly free while another remained oppressed. Together, the people of our region overcame colonial rule and apartate. Together, we transformed Southern Africa from a region marked by conflict and oppression into a community founded on peace, on democracy, cooperation, and a common future. Today, our task is to give economic and social meaning to that political liberation. We are a community of 16 nations and more than 430 million people with a GDP that is edging towards a trillion dollars shortly. We possess abundant mineral resources, as our executive secretary said, vast agricultural potential, a youthful population, a growing industrial and technological capability. We have made important progress in the previous years. The Saddak free trade area has created a platform for greater regional commerce. The Saddak realtime gross settlement system facilitates crossborders payments and draws our economies much closer together. Through the Southern African Power Pool, member states share electricity infrastructure and resources across national borders. Through regional cooperation, we are strengthening our collective capacity to prevent conflict, to address instability, to support democratic governance, and to respond to political and security challenges. Through the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, we are strengthening disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness, and health security across our region. The importance of this cooperation is demonstrated by the devastating Ebola outbreak caused by the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the latest count, nearly 5,000 confirmed cases have been recorded and more than 2,300 lives have been lost. Behind every number is a human life, is a family. Behind every statistics is a family and a household that continues to experience sadness and grief. Behind every number is an anxious community and a health worker placing their own life at risk to save others. And on behalf of our government and the people of Southern Africa, we express our deepest condolences to the government and to the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as they go through this devastating pandemic. We commend the courage of Congalles health workers. We appreciate the leadership of the government of the DRC, the Africa CDC, especially Dr. Casaya who is here who is the director general of this Africa CDC and the World Health Organization working with regional and international partners to coordinate the response. But the outbreak continues to outpace our efforts. We must do much more and we commend the government of the DRC of doing what they are doing monitoring the development of this virus. We must act with urgency, all of us. And we call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the affected conflict areas in the eastern DRC and for the safe and secure humanitarian access so that health workers can reach every affected community. And we call on all parties to respect health facilities, health workers, and humanitarian operations. And we call on governments to avoid indiscriminate restrictions on travel and trade against affected countries. This generalized ban on travel from countries that are affected by pandemic is clearly unfair. Such restrictions are not supported by public health evidence. They damage economies. They disrupt livelihoods and may drive movement through unmonitored border crossings thereby making containment much more difficult. As SADC, we stand in solidarity with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its peoples. We must strengthen surveillance, laboratory capacity, emergency coordination, and clinical preparedness in neighboring member states and across our region. Because what has broken out in the DRC could easily spread and affect many other countries in our region. We must also ensure that financial pledges are translated urgently into resources on the ground. Protecting Africa from epidemics requires more than responding when outbreaks occur. I speak as I do on this matter having been appointed by the African Union as the champion for pandemic surveillance and response. It requires sustained investment in prevention, surveillance, resilient health systems, research and the African production of vaccines, diagnostics and medicines. This is an important test of solidarity and a practical test of our able to pledge solidarity with others and also Africa's determination to build greater health sovereignty. Your majesties and excellencies, the work undertaken across all these areas demonstrates that Saddak is not simply a forum for meetings, for summits and communicates. Saddam. Saddak rather. Saddak is an instrument through which we give practical effect to our vision of a peaceful, integrated, industrialized and successful and prosperous southern Africa. The report of the executive secretary, Mr. IAS Mahosi details the progress that has been made as he was also speaking. It also challenges us to do much more with greater urgency, with focus and also with discipline. And we thank the executive secretary, the secretariat and senior officials of Saddak and indeed our ministers, the council of ministers as led by Minister Lamola of South Africa for the sterling work that they've undertaken preparing for this summit. While our regional integration agenda is making progress, the pace of transformation remains slow. Our region recorded economic growth of approximately 3.4% in 2025. Yet intra saddak trade accounted for only around 1 of the region's total trade. After decades of integration, we have not yet truly and fully unlocked the potential of our regional market. We continue to import too many goods that we could produce within our region. We continue to export, as we heard from our executive secretary, raw materials that we could process and beneficiate here. ourselves in our region. We continue to procure services from elsewhere that our own people and businesses have the skills and the capacity to provide. Every raw material exported without benefici. Every product imported that could competitively be manufactured here represents jobs that could have been created in our communities. We have everything we need across our 16 member states to make the needs to meet the needs of our people. We have the natural resources. We have the land and agricultural potential and we do have the skills and capabilities that can produce all the needs of our people. Above all, we have more than 400 million people whose energy, ingenuity, enterprise must become the driving force of our development. The people of our region are asking us to deliver the dividend of economic liberation. They want decent jobs. They want growing industries, reliable electricity, affordable food, quality health care, education, and opportunities for the youth of our region. They expect regional integration to improve their daily lives in visible, practical and meaningful ways. So this summit must therefore accelerate through the decisions that we will take the implementation of the regional indicative strategic development plan of 2020 to 2030. First, we must deepen industrialization and build regional value chains. The minerals and agricultural commodities of our region must become the foundation of Southern African manufacturing. We must process more of what we mine and add value to more of what we grow and manufacture more of what we consume. Secondly, we must invest boldly in regional infrastructure. We do need the roads that should link our countries. We need the efficient railways that should carry the minerals and manufactured goods and modern ports that should connect southern Africa to continental and global markets. Our infrastructure must connect not only our capitals and commercial centers but also rural communities, our border towns and un unserviced regions, underserviced rural areas that have remained on the margins of development. And thirdly, we must strengthen our energy, water, and digital security. We should also expand electricity generation and transmission capacity and deepen cooperation through the existing Southern African power pool and strengthen it. Every citizen must have access to safe water and adequate sanitation. We must therefore invest in crossborder water infrastructure to secure water for our households, our farms and industries. We must expand affordable digital connectivity so that every community, every entrepreneur and every young person can participate fully in the digital economy. And fourthly, we must build climate resilient food systems. And we must also be able to respond to climate diversity as well as agricultural expertise to feed our people and become major global producers of food. We must improve agricultural productivity, strengthen regional food reserves and agricultural value chains and support small holder and emerging farmers. And fifthly, we must make full use of the opportunities that are presented by the Africa continental free trade area. In the end, SADC must become a powerful platform from which our businesses can access a continental market of more than 1.4 billion people that reside on our continent. But this will require us to remove non-tariff barriers, improve border management, harmonize standards and make it easier for goods, services, capital and skills to move up. They must be properly costed. They must be funded, assigned and monitored. Our communicates must become construction sites, factories, power lines, water systems, laboratories, businesses, and create jobs for our young people. Regional integration must be seen and felt in the daily lives of our people. Now in the end none of this will be possible without peace, security and stability. Peace without development is fragile. Development without peace is impossible. We must continue to invest in preventative de diplomacy, mediation and political dialogues to solve political challenges and problems. We must strengthen the work of the SADC panel of elders, the organ troa and our regional institutions. We must also resolve differences that may exist through dialogue, uphold our shared democratic principles and act collectively whenever the peace and stability of our region are threatened. We have done so in the past. Our community in the end is like a river system. Every member state of our 16 countries is a tributary with its own history, its own identity, its own character, its own strength. When those separate currents come together, they become a powerful force that carries opportunity across borders and sustains all in its path. A tributary does not lose its identity when it joins a great river. It gains reach, depth, and power and flows strongly. In the same way, regional integration does not diminish our sovereignty. It multiplies our collective capacity to secure the well-being of the people of Southern Africa. Our community must therefore become more than the sum of its member states. It must have the institutional strength, the authority and resources to advance our common interests and realize our shared vision. I would like to see this summit to be remembered not merely for the declarations that we will adopt but for the decisions that we implement. Let this summit in Durban, the city in which the African Union was launched, become the place where Saddak renewed its determination to build a truly integrated regional economy. And we must turn our borders into bridges. And we must turn our resources into industries. And we must turn our youthful population into a powerful democratic dividend that will benefit all the peoples of Southern Africa. And we must turn this solidarity that has been so strong over the years into a shared pro prosperity. And this summit must therefore inspire a new era of regional integration that delivers dignity, opportunity, and the hope of every citizen of Southern Africa. Let this summit affirm our commitment to peace, security, and democracy. We should emerge from this summit stronger with resolve to build diversified industries and resilient economies. And so in the end we must move forward as SADC and implement the SADC vision 2050 which is about a peaceful, inclusive, competitive and prosperous region in which no country and no person is left behind. It is now my distinct honor and privilege to declare the 46th ordinary summit of heads of state and government of the southern African development community officially opened and I thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Your Majesty, excellencies, we will now listen to a short statement from His Excellency Dr. Mahmud Ali Ysef, chairperson of the African Union Commission, who is unable to join us this morning, but we will has sent a short video clip for this occasion. Your Excellencies Your Excellency Mr. Siri Raafosa the President of the Republic of South Africa and incoming chairperson of SADC. Your Excellency Dr. Emerson Mangua the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the outgoing chairperson of SADC. Your Majesty's excellencies heads of state and government. Your excellency Mr. Edius Magazi, the executive secretary of SADC. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor to address the 46th ordinary summit of heads of state and government of the Southern African Development Community. I would have wished to join you in Durban. I'm however pleased to be represented by her excellency Verato Matabog, the African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy. I convey through her the full commitment of the African Union Commission to SADC and its member states. Allow me to commend the Republic of Zimbabwe for its leadership of SADC over the past year and to congratulate the Republic of South Africa as it assumes the chairmanship of the community. I also commend the Republic of Malawi for its stewardship of the organ. Excellencies, SADC has long been a pillar of Africa's integrated integration project. Its contribution to peace and security, regional integration, infrastructure, development, and economic transformation extends well beyond southern Africa and contributes directly to the realization of agenda 2063 and therefore particularly encouraged by the strengthening of cooperation between the African Union Commission and SAD. In line with the 2021 revised protocol on relations between the African Union and the regional economic communities, our collaboration has become more regular, substantive, and operational. We have seen this in our closer coordination on peace and security challenges, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar. Consultations between the leadership of the African Union Commission and the regional economic communities have also become more regular. While our midyear coordination meetings are increasingly focused on substantive issues of coordination, implementation and complimentarity, we must build on this progress. More than three decades ago, the Abuja treaty recognized that Africa's integration would be built through its regional economic communities. Our responsibility today is to make that architecture work more effectively. This requires greater clarity of responsibilities, stronger complimentarity and less duplication between the African Union, the regional economic communities and member states. This is why completing the ongoing exercise on the division of labor is so important. It is effective implementation should provide a clearer framework for deterine determining responsibilities and ensuring that our respective institutions reinforce one another. This is not simply an institutional exercise. It is about making our union more effective and ensuring that our decisions translate into concrete results for the African people. I therefore welcome the increasing involvement of member states in this process. Excellencies SADC is already making an important contribution to this effort. As share of the inter regional economic community coordination platform, SADC is helping to strengthen cooperation among Africa's regional econom economic communities and regional mechanism. Its contributions within the AGA apps platform is also helping to strengthen synergies between our continental governance, peace and security architectures. I wish in this regard to recognize the valuable work of the Saddic permanent representation to the African Union in Adisaba whose sustained engagement has contributed to the closer cooperation we see today. The challenges facing Africa increasingly transcend national and regional boundaries. Our response must therefore be equally coordinated. A strong African Union needs strong regional economic communities and strong regional economic communities needs an African Union capable of ensuring continental coherence and advancing our common priorities. As South Africa assumes the chairmanship of SADC, I look forward to working closely with his excellency President Sir Ramova and the other heads of state and government of the region to further deepen this partnership. Together, let us build an African institutional architecture that is clearer in its responsibilities, stronger in its coordination, and above all, more effective in in delivering for our peoples. I wish you fruitful deliberations and every success for this 46th ordinary summit. Long live SADC. Long live the African Union and long live Africa. I thank you our sincere appreciation for that video message. Your majesty, your excellencies, we will now listen to a statement from his excellency Mr. Clever Gatee, the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Your Excellency It's always uh difficult to speak after the strong message by the president and executive secretary of the saddic. Your Majesty King Musati the third of Swatini, Your Excellency Serafosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and the incoming chairperson of SADK and our gracious host, your excellency Dr. Emerson Unangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and outgoing chair of the of the Saddic. Excellencies, heads of state and government here present. Honorable ministers and heads of delegations, your excellency mahosi, executive secretary of sadc, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to join you today at the 46 ordinary summit of SAD hills of state and government. I commend the government and people of South Africa for their warm hospitality and congratulate Saddic Secretariat under the leadership of the executive secretary Elias Mahosi for convening the summit under the crucial theme resilient sustainable and inclusive industrialization through infrastructure development agricultural and critical minerals transformation in pursuit of a just world. Your excellency, our meeting takes place at a critical time in the world. Technological innovation, climate crisis, shifting geopolitics and the reconfiguration of global supply chains are reshaping trade, investment, industrial production. Meanwhile, development aid is declining. Concessional resources are becoming scarce and borrowing costs are rising. The crisis in the Middle East is further adding pressure by disrupting roots, trade routes, raising energy, food and fertilizer price volatility, fearing inflation, eroding the value of the African currencies and tightening financing conditions. In response, global nations are investing in advanced manufacturing, food systems, transformation, energy security, including uh clean energy, digitization, and strategic industries. So, where does Africa fit in this new economic order? For generations, the continent has supplied the world with raw and semi-finished commodities while receiving a disproportionately small share of the massive wealth created from the sector. Africa exports minerals, others manufacture batteries, electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies. Africa exports agriculture commodities. Others process, package and market higher value food products. Africa also imports significant quantities of fertizer despite possessing natural gas, phosphates, potach and industrial capacity. This pattern limits job creation, weakens resilience and constrains structural transformation. Are we going to continue exporting raw materials while others capture the higher value stages of production or shall we become a competitive center of manufacturing, innovation and value creation? The theme of this year's summit provides the answer. Business as usual cannot continue. Industriization built on infrastructure, agriculture and critical minerals is an economic necessity if we are to create productive jobs, add value to our resources and position Africa in the industries of the future. Importantly, Southern Africa begins with extraordinary advantages as mentioned by executive secretary of SADIC. It has rich uh deposits of platinum, lithium, diamonds, manganesees, cobalt and copper. Resources indispensable for the global energy transition. It also has fat land, manufacturing capacity, financial markets, power, infrastructure and transport corridors linking Indian and Atlantic oceans. Across Africa, vast mineral and agricultural resources, renewable energy potential and growing industrial capabilities provide a strong foundation for transformation. The continent, as everybody knows, holds about 30% of global reserves of critical energy transition minerals for which demand could more than triple by 2030 under the net zero scenarios. So, we have the resources. The question is how do we transform these resources into greater prosperity for our people? Minerals already contribute around 10% of Saddex GDP and 25% of exports but only 7% of direct employment. This imbalance uh takes tells us uh where the opportunity lies very addition regional integration and infrastructure development. Fortunately, Southern Africa already offers evidence of the industrial future that we seek. South Africa's automotive sector has built strong supply networks while Botswana's shift into diamond cutting, polishing, and trading shows how greater value can be retained domestically. Zimbabwe's investment in lithium processing demonstrate a growing recognition that value must be captured before export. Mozambique's uh natural gas developments show how resource wealth can supply industrialization for production and regional energy security. And the Robito corridor connecting Angora to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo indicates how infrastructure can reduce transport costs, unlock investment and support value chains. The Southern African power pool illustrates how cooperation can improve energy security and create larger industrial markets. And the Zambia DRC battery electric vehicle initiative provides a model for transforming cobalt, copper and lithium into battery products and electric mobility value chains. And the economics of all this is compelling. The United Nations Economic uh Commission for Africa's Research found that building a 10,000 t battery precursor plant in the Democratic Republic of of the Congo could cost about 39 million US dollars, roughly three times less than in the United States, while also reducing emissions compared with existing supply chains rooted around China. This is precisely the kind of opportunity Africa must sees. Not simply exporting all but producing higher value goods, developing technical capabilities and skills and retaining more value in the continent. This is the approach the economic commission for Africa's planned work with the Africa government bank on Africa critical mineral value chains and strategic corridors. Such a strategic value uh chain corridors may include the battery and electric vehicle value chain involving DRC, Zambia, Tanzania and South Africa among others. The Reium industrialization corridor involving Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. The graphite processing corridor involving Mozambi, Madagascar and Tanzania. and the ino manganesees and green industrial materials corridor involving Guinea, Maritania, Liberia, South Africa, Gabo, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Your Majesty, excellencies, the ideas exist, opportunities abound. What is needed is implementation supported by strategic investments, strong institutions and partnerships around a shared division. Regional value chains must become the cornerstone of Africa's industrialization, industrial transformation because no single country possesses every resource, technology or capability required in uh to compete globally. Together, SAD has the minerals, agriculture, energy, finance, ports, skills and markets needed to build competitive regional production networks. How then do we move forward? Allow me to suggest among others six priorities. First, we must mobilize financing and partnerships at scale. Governments must lead but cannot finance this transformation alone. Development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, the private sector and partners must prepare bankable regional projects in energy, transport, industrial parks, logistics, digital infrastructure and agro industrial development. Second, we must accelerate mineral beneficiation and regional critical mineral uh vary chains. Beneficiation should not stop at initial processing. The objective must be integrated regional industries spanning extraction, refining, precursor materials, component manufacturing and finished products. Third, we must transform agriculture into an engine of industrialization. This requires investment in seed systems, mechanization, irrigation, storage, food processing, code chains, logistics and export infrastructure. Stronger value chains in maze, sou livestock, corticulture and agrop processing can reduce food import dependency, create jobs and strengthen resilience against climate shocks. Fourth, fertilizer and agriculture input security must become a strategic regional priority. Reliable and affordable fertilizer is essential for agriculture transformation. South Southern Africa has n has natural resources, phosphate reserves, transport infrastructure and markets to develop regional fertilizer value chains that lower costs for farmers while creating industrial capabil capabilities and jobs. Fifth, we must strengthen regional value chains through the Africa continental free trade area. Minerals may be found in one country, energy in another, manufacturing capability in a third, and consumer markets across the region. The Africa continental free trade area provides the framework to combine these advantages by reducing trade barriers, improving customs efficiency and facilitating crossber investments. And six, we must accelerate investment in energy and enabling infrastructure as mentioned by the president. Industriization cannot flourish without reliable, affordable and sustainable energy, efficient transport networks, and modern digital technology connectivity. Building on the Southern Africa power pool, the region should expand generation, strengthen transmission interconnections and accelerate investments in renewable energy, hydroelect electric power, gas to power and battery storage. Your majesty excellencies, Southern Africa does not need to start from the scratch. If the region combines critical mineral wealth with regional energy markets, fertilizer production, modern transport corridors, and competitive agricultural value chains, it can become not only the supply of raw materials, but the center of industrial production and food systems transformation. The pathway is clear. implementation at scale, coordinated regional action and sustained investment in what is required. And the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa remains committed to working alongside SADC, African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, and all partners to turn this vision into reality. Together, we can move beyond exporting potential to creating lasting prosperity for our people, the Saddic, and the continent. I thank you very much for your kind attention. Thank you, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Your Majesty, your excellencies, the Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community implements a range of strategic initiatives to engage the public including the youth, learners, students, media professionals in advancing regional integration and development. Among these initiatives are the SADIC secondary school essay competitions, tertiary institutions essay competition and the SADIC media awards. These initiatives promote awareness of SADIC and also encourage creativity, critical thinking and recognize excellency in storytelling of the Sadic story. At this point, we will now announce the winners of the 2026 SADIC competition. We're going to start with the secondary school essay competition. We will flag the winners on the screen as I announce them. We have Mr. Samboga Makoba from South Africa. Second position we have Miss Damen Francisco, Republic of Mosmbique. And the first position we have Mr. Tulani Mahamir, Republic of Zimbabwe. I'll move to the 2026 Saddict Tertiary Institution essay competition. Third position we have Miss Liselle Benise Mujoro, Republic of Namibia. Second position we have Miss Yamikani Bottoman, Republic of Malawi. And the first position we have Miss Vua Carabo Simelani, Kingdom of Esatin. And for the 2026 media awards, I'll start with the print category. The second position goes to Mr. Urelio Janeiro, Republic of Angola. And the first position goes to Mr. Plettos Muambe, Republic of Mosambi. Television category second prize goes to Mr. Delin Analtoan, sorry, Mozambi. And the first position goes to Miss Elago Napa Shita Namibia. Photo category first uh second position goes to Mr. Sabule Laduda South Africa. I think is is in this room. And then the first prize goes to Mr. Dom Aseno Semed Angola. And finally with radio we have the second prize going to Mr. Cako Rio Claudes South Africa and the first prize Mr. Horasio Ramo Mosambbeek thank you and we wish to congratulate the winners of those awards. We will now proceed to the maiden speech to be delivered by the president of seashells his excellency Mr. Patrick Yemen as a new member of the Saddic family. As per tradition, we allow the new member of the Savic family to deliver their maiden speech. His Excellency Dr. Matthew Antonio Patrick Herman, President of the Republic of Seals, Your Excellency, you have the floor. >> His majesty King Mati the third, his excellency Mr. Seriel Ramafuza, President of the Republic of South Africa and interim chairperson of SADC, his excellency Dr. Um Gagu, arguing chairperson of SADC, your excellencies, heads of state and government, executive secretary of SADC, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. It is a profound honor to address this distinguished assembly for the first time as president of the Republic of Seions. I thank the government and people of the Republic of South Africa for their warm hospitality and I commend the Republic of Zimbabwe for stewardship of our community as outgoing chair. As such marks 50 years of independence, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the ideals upon which SADC was founded. Solidarity, regional integration, and the shared prosperity of our people. Excellencies, history rarely announces the moment when it changes course. It simply presents a generation with a choice. And I believe that this is Africa's moment. Our predecessors fought for political liberation. They secured our sovereignty and build the foundations of regional cooperation. Our generation is called upon to fulfill a different mission to transform Africa's immense potential into prosperity for its people. For centuries, others crossed the ocean in search of Africa's wealth. Today, history presents us with a different opportunity, not simply to supply the world with our resources, but to build prosperity from them. The measure of Africa's success can no longer be the value of what leaves our shores but the opportunities we create within them. The theme of this summit points us in that direction. Industrialization, infrastructure, agricultural transformation and the responsible development of our crit critical minerals are not separate priorities. Together they form the foundation of a resilient, competitive and prosperous southern Africa. Excellencies, the world around us earth us is changing rapidly. Geopolitical tensions, disruptions to global supply chains, volatile energy markets and climate related events remind us that our prosperity cannot depend solely on circumstances beyond our control. For seals, these realities are immediate. As an island nation, we experience the effects of global disruptions in the cost of food, fuel, and essential goods and the confidence upon which our tourism economy depends. Yet, this is not the experience of seals alone. It is a reminder that in today's world, the resilience of every member state depends upon the resilience of the community as a whole. Our response must therefore be greater regional integration not as an aspiration but as an economic necessity. Geography has blessed our community with different strengths. Some member states possess fertile agricultural islands. Others hold the critical minerals that will shape industries of tomorrow. Others serve as the gateway ways through which southern Africa connects to global markets. These are not competing advantages. They are complimentary strengths. The prosperity of a landlock economy depends upon efficient access to ports. The success of our ports depends upon vibrant regional production and seamless transport corridors. Our future will be built by connecting these trends into one integrated regional economy. Excellencies, industrialization is not simply about manufacturing. It is about dignity. It is about creating opportunities for our young people. It is about ensuring that African resources, create African jobs, African industries and African prosperity. Africa should no longer export raw materials and import finished products at a premium. The era of African potential must now become the era of African prosperity. This demands leadership. It demands investment and above all it demands unity. Excellencies, the founders of Saddak understood that our greatest strength would never be found in the size of our individual economies. It would be found in the unity of our purpose. That truth remains as relevant today as it was over four decades ago. History will not judge our generation by the speeches we delivered or the declarations we adopted. It will judge us by whether we had the courage to transform our resources into opportunity, our integration into prosperity, and our shared vision into tangible progress for the people we serve. Africa's greatest resource has never been it soil. It has always been the determination of its people. If we unite that determination with visionary leadership, sound institutions and bold economic transformation, then the next chapter of global development will not simply include Africa. It will be shaped by Africa and my country stands ready to play its part. I thank you ladies and gentlemen. Thank you your excellency president of the republic of seells Dr. Matthew Patrick Heman. We now going to transition into the handover ceremony where we will witness the Republic of South Africa assuming the chairpersonship of the Southern African Development Community. At this point, I now have the honor to humbly invite his excellency Dr. Emerson Damos Mangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the outgoing chairperson of Sadi to deliver his statement and thereafter we will witness the handover. Your Excellency President Nangu, you have the floor. Your Majesty King Muati the third of the Kingdom of Esatini and incoming chairperson of the organ on politics. Defense and Security Cooperation. Your Excellency Ma Ramaposa, my young brother, President of the Republic of South Africa and Chisik. Your excellency professor, president of Republic of Malawi, represented by the right honorable Mr. Enoch Kadingeni Jana, second vice president of the Republic of Malawi and chairperson of the organ of politics, defense and security cooperation. Your Excellency Dr. Samir Suulu Asan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania and outgoing chair of Dr. Emanuel John Nimi, Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania. Your Excellencies as of Government, Honorable Ministers, representatives of international and regional organizations and economic communities. Excellencies, ambassadors and high commissioners, distinguished delegates, fellow Sadic citizens over here, ladies and gentlemen, commerce and friends. It is with profound gratitude that I address the 460th ordinary summit of Sudic heads of state and government in my capacity as the outgoing chairperson. This summit has been convened under the able leadership of my dear young brother his excellency Ramaposa president of the republic of South Africa. My dear brother President Sio Ramaposa for his assute and visional leadership and the stewardship of original body over the past year as interim chairperson. He guided the region through the complexities of a turbulent geopolitical landscape ensuring that our integration agenda remain on course. However, it is with a deep sense of loss that acknowledge the passing of two towering figures of our continent. former president Fesus Mai of Botswana and the former acting president Kai Scott of Zambia. President Muai a man of immense wisdom and a key architect of Sadik leaves behind a legacy of principal governing similarly we mourn the death of Dr. K Scott who saved his nation with distinction, courage and resolve. May their souls continue to rest in internal peace. On behalf of the government and people of Zimbabwe, I also wish to once again extend deepest condolences to our brothers and sisters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We have tragically lost loved ones to the Ebola outbreak. We stand in solidarity with you during this difficult time and commend your resilience in the face of this health crisis. Your majesty, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I formally hand over the leadership of organization to my dear young brother. Honor the theme resilient, sustainable and inclusive dustization through infrastructure development, agricultural and critical minerals transformation in pursuit of a just world. The primary goal of this team is among us to ensure that we add value to our heritage based resources and move away from exporting raw materials by building local processing, refining and manufacturing capacities across southern Africa. This will boost intrastadic trade while harmonizing regul regulations in agro processing and infrastructure environment. By processing our minerals, we create jobs, foster innovation and retain the value that rightfully belongs to our people. As Zimbabwe, we are emboldening our national development philosophy. This timeless truth entails that nations, cities and regions are built by their own people. This is by and large our running call for self-determination. By placing our people at the core of our development agenda, we ensure that the wealth of our region benefits our citizens and improve their quality of life. While we value our international partnerships, experience and hindsight have on external funding which is the risk to compromise our sovereignity and national priorities. We must therefore build and enhance our own financial and industrial cap capabilities. The operationalization of the Sadic regional development fund is timely and remains a cornerstone for developmental agenda and strategy. I commend the progress realize to date that and appeal those member states who are yet to sign or ratify this critical protocol to do so. Our people are an important resource to build our region. We must empower them through education and skills development. In Zimbabwe, our heritage based education 5.0 Zero model continues to integrate our rich indigenous knowledge systems with contemporary scientific inquiry, innovation, technology to accelerate industrialization and modernization. This is further ensuring that our talented young people look at their rich heritage not as a relic of the past but as a solid foundation to build a more prosperous future. As a region, we have a duty to continue investing in educational systems that produce solutions, reclaiming our identity and sharing generations that believe in our unique capabilities as a people. Meanwhile, progress made in the implementation of high impact regional infrastructure projects, including those nearing completion, is encouraging. The completion of the Kazungula water project is worth celebrating and said to provide clean water to residents and border users. Additional collective investments in the sadic water fund and transboundary water cooperation deserve our support towards gardening and guaranteeing this most precious resource for generations to come. Advancement in methological observation is sharpening our agricultural planning, strengthening early warning systems and bolstering disaster preparedness. These achievements are pillars of resilience upon which we will build a prosperous and sustainable future for all our people. Your Majesty, excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to acknowledge the dedicated leadership of his excellency professor Peter Dika as chairperson of the organ politics, defense and security cooperation. The organ remains the backbone of our collective pursuit of peace and stability in our region. In the same vein, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to his majesty king Mati the third on assuming this critical stewardship. Your majesty, please be assured of Zimbabwe support and cooperation as you lead our regional body in advancing regional integration, peace and security. However, we are deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian challenges in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. We welcome the ongoing diplomatic and mediation efforts in that area. Similarly, we are encouraged by the positive outcomes of engagements led by the panel of elders and the mediation reference group supported by the saddic secretariat in Madagascar. The region remains committed to supporting the people and government of Madagascar as they chart their reform process towards sustainable peace, stability and development within the agreed time frames. We also welcome the good progress in the construction of the static standby force regional logistic temple in Botswana. I urge all member states to take a lead in ensuring that the requisite funding is secured to facilitate the completion of the construction of this critical regional facility. Your majesty, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the people and government of Zimbabwe, my express my profound gratitude to the sadic region, the African Union and United Nations for the anocal support toward Zimbabwe's election for a nonpermanent seat in the United Nations Security Council for the period 2027 to 2028. We thank you. The endorsement of our bid was the vote of confidence in Zimbabwe's commitment to the principles of peace, dialogue and international cooperation. This seat is not for Zimbabwe alone. It is a seed for the sadic region along with the broader African continent and global south. We shall save our tenure with integrity and use the opportunity to advance peace and justice as well as dialogue, inclusivity, peaceful solutions and a shared prosperity and card on sustainable development, industization and modernization. In the same spirit, let me take this opportunity to thank you all for the continued solidarity and support you are extending to Zimbabwe as we endure the unjust unilateral sanctions imposed on us by some stupid Western countries. We reiterate our call for the unconditional removal of these sanctions. Your Majesty, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, allow me now to officially hand over the mantle of leadership of organization, his excellency and young brother, President CEO M. I'm confident that under his astute leadership guided by the principle of Ubuntu and indomitable spirit of Sadik we will overcome any challenges towards building the future of our people the future our people deserve. Be assured your excellency and dear brother of Zimbabwe's continued support and cooperation as you steer the organization towards the sic we all want. May your tenure be marked by success, unity and accelerated integration of economies as well as enhanced peopleto people cooperation. As your elder brother always be there to guide you. I wish the Southern African Development Community a happy and memorable Sadic day. Live long, Sadic. Live long our unity. Live long our solidarity. God bless you all. God bless Sadik. God bless Africa. I thank you. Thank you your excellency Dr. Emerson Dam Nangagua your excellency would like you to remain on the podium so that you'll be handing over the chairpersonship. Now I invite also his excellency president Sirro Matame Ramaposa to come to the podium to receive the instruments of power as the chairperson of Saddic. Your excellency you may proceed to the podium. the executive secretary of Saddic. May you also proceed to facilitate the handover. >> We will ask their excellencies just to come in the center here so that we can see them properly. We are going to witness the exchange of power whereby his excellency president Emerson Dambuzum Nangagua will hand over the chairperson's badge to his excellency president Ramaposa. The badge Saddic badge is engraved with the president's name and his title as the chairperson of Saddic After receiving the chairperson's badge, his excellency president Ramaposa will also be given the gavo, one of the instruments of symbolizing that he's now the chairperson of Saddic. Thank you. We will now also see the chairperson receiving the cover. Thank you. Thank you. And congratulations your excellency President Dramaposa, the chairperson of Sadi. and also congratulations to his excellency Emerson Damuzum Nangagwa, president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the outgoing chairperson. We will now have an acceptance statement by the chairperson, his excellency President Ramaposa will deliver his acceptance statement. Thank you. program director, your excellencies, heads of states and government, your majesty. I'd like to stand on the protocols that have already been recognized. and pronounced on on behalf of the government and the people of South Africa. I accept the responsibility of assuming the chairpersonenship of the Southern African Development Community. We do so with profound humility, a deep sense of duty and an unwavering commitment to the peoples of Southern Africa. South Africa regards this chairpersonship not simply as an honor bestowed upon our country but as a responsibility entrusted to us by our region. We accept it conscious of the debt of gratitude that South Africa owes to the countries and the peoples of Southern Africa. During the darkest days of aparate, the nations of this region stood with the people of South Africa. They provided shelter to our freedom fighters. They supported our struggle. They endured destabilization, economic hardship, and loss of lives because they believe that no country in Southern Africa could be truly free while another remained oppressed. Our participation in Saddak is founded upon this history of courage, sacrifice, and solidarity. It is sustained by our conviction that the destiny of the countries of Southern Africa are inseparable and that our progress will be secured only through unity, cooperation and common purpose. I express my sincere gratitude to my elder brother and your excellency president Nangagua. I should tell you that his majesty king Sati III and I were in conversation this morning and we wondered what you are taking to still remain so young and and that brings into question my continued deference to you as my elder brother, but you remain my elder brother and would like to thank you for your chairpersonship of Saddak, for your leadership and the stewardship of our community. We thank you for the progress that has been achieved during your tenure and for the firm foundation upon which we will continue to build. I also express our appreciation to the SADC secretariat under the leadership of the executive secretary Mr. IAS Mahosi for his dedication to the work that he has been given in advancing the programs and the transformation agenda of our community. During South Africa's chairship, we will work closely with every member state guided by the principle of sovereign equality, mutual respect, solidarity, and consensus. We will build upon the previous chairpersons and the work that they did to advance the implementation of the Saddak vision 2050. Our foremost responsibility will be to improve the lives of the peoples of Southern Africa. We must deepen regional integration so that goods, services, capital, skills can move more efficiently across our borders. And we will work to strengthen the value chains in our region to expand intra African trade and mobilize investments and infrastructure. We have made tremendous progress in this regard and we will be building on what has already been achieved and we will do everything to work together to advance industrialization agenda and we will place young people, women, entrepreneurs at the center of our region's economic transformation. At the same time, we will continue to safeguard peace, security, democracy, and stability. The strength of Saddak lies not only in its institutions or its agreements, but it lies in the solidarity of its member states. South Africa will therefore approach this chairpersonship as a servant of the region. We will listen. We will consult. We will seek consensus. Above all, we will work with every member state to translate our shared commitments into visible and lasting progress. The most fitting way for South Africa to honor the sacrifices that people in this region made for our freedom is to dedicate ourselves to the freedom, dignity, and prosperity of all. As we accept this responsibility, we wish to congratulate the Republic of Zimbabwe for accceeding to the non-permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council and we have every confidence that Zimbabwe will represent not only our region but the entire continent in the various deliberations at the United Nations. And when President Nanga goes to the union to the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, we will know that he is carrying the entire continent, not only Saddak on his shoulders shoulders as he represents us. So we do accept this responsibility with humility and we undertake to execute it with integrity, diligence, unwavering commitment to the unity of our region. So we will work with every member state and thank you very much for bestowing on us this honor and we accept it once again with the humility. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. President. Your Majesty, your excellencies, this concludes the opening ceremony. In your honor, your excellencies, lunchon will now be served. in the interest of time and then we will then commence with the closed session. I thank you. Um the leaders will dine in the leaders lounge. Ministers and other invited guests will dine in the ministerial lounge, senior officials downstairs. Uh protocol, please uh conduct the leaders.