The SADC Secretariat met with the German Development Cooperation (GDC) on 20 September 2016 in Gaborone, Botswana, to exchange ideas on the Draft Strategy for the German Development Cooperation with SADC and to discuss support under focal areas in preparation for the SADC-German Policy Level Consultations scheduled for 17 and 18 November 2016 in Gaborone.
The meeting was chaired by Dr. Thembinkosi Mhlongo, SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration (DES-RI), and co-chaired by Mrs Jana Schlegel, Counsellor on Cooperation at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Gaborone.
The meeting explained that the draft Strategy for the German Development Cooperation with SADC is for the period of 2016 – 2021, and reconfirms the priorities of SADC-German Cooperation agreed upon during the last SADC-Germany Bilateral Negotiations of 09 July 2015. It is aligned with the SADC Revised RISDP (2015-2020), the SIPO, the Africa Political Guidelines of the German Government, the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU). It also emphasizes that the SADC Secretariat remains key partner of German cooperation focusing mainly on Regional Integration and on Strengthening National-Regional Linkages.
The meeting also discussed the draft agenda for the SADC-German Policy Level Consultations scheduled for 17 and 18 November 2016 in Gaborone, Botswana, mainly regarding support under focal areas of cooperation. In this regard, the meeting noted the progress on implementation of ongoing programmes under SADC/Germany Cooperation and the upcoming activities for each sector, among others the GDC New commitment under financial cooperation (2016) to contribute new funding to the SADC-Trans-frontier Conservation Area (TFCA) Facility in the amount of 8 million Euros.
The SADC-German Policy Level Consultations scheduled for 17 and 18 November 2016 in Gaborone, Botswana, will prepare the next SADC-Germany Bilateral Negotiations 2017 in Berlin, Germany.
