Ministers at the 34th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Committee of the Ministers of Trade and 24th Ministerial Taskforce on Regional Economic Integration meeting in Harare, Republic of Zimbabwe on 5th June 2025, have made renewed calls for accelerated intra-regional trade, industrialisation and deeper economic integration.
The SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the provisions of the SADC Protocol on Trade whose objective is to promote intra-regional trade in goods and services to accelerate economic growth for the SADC region. On the other hand, the SADC Ministerial Taskforce on Regional Economic Integration is responsible for shaping and guiding the advancement of the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063 within the broader framework of regional economic integration and ensuring that the Region’s abundant natural resources are utilised sustainably to spur economic growth and improve the well-being of the people of the SADC region.
The Chairperson of the 34th SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade and the 24th Ministerial Taskforce on Regional Economic Integration, Honourable Professor Amon Murwira, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers, stressed the importance of unity and the urgent need for SADC Member States to ratify outstanding SADC protocols, such as the SADC Protocol on Trade, SADC Protocol on Industry and SADC Protocol on Trade in Services which provide a framework of cooperation on trade and industrial development and eliminating barriers to trade among SADC Member States.
“The basis of SADC is that together we have a prosperous common future. The SADC Declaration and Treaty underscore the importance of regional integration. We must move away from constructing barriers amongst ourselves,” Honourable Prof. Murwira said.
Honourable Prof. Murwira added: “we are all aware of the fragile state of global trade relations ranging from unilateral actions, reversals of trade commitments, and threats to multilateralism. This uncertain environment reinforces the need to build our collective resilience, through promotion of sustainable development, deeper regional integration, stronger value chains, and expanded trade within our own region”.
On the implementation of the SADC Industrialisation and Roadmap 2015-2063, Honourable Prof. Murwira highlighted that, if fully implemented, the Strategy has the potential to transform the region’s industrial base, improve productivity, and shift the structure of SADC economies towards higher value-added goods.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of SADC, His Excellency Mr. Elias M. Magosi underscored the need for the SADC region to collaborate and cooperate in implement g the SADC trade agenda and towards the realisation of an integrated regional market that can create endless opportunities to drive industrialisation, increase intra-regional trade and accelerate economic integration and growth for the region
In light of the recent geopolitical developments, H.E. Magosi said this should serve as a powerful wake-up call for the SADC region, a call for unity, cooperation and more integration. He urged Member States to reflect on how the SADC region can better navigate the evolving geopolitical landscape and address underlying factors that impede increased intra-regional trade.
He said: “We must not think of short-term solutions but rather devise long-term solutions to counter all the anticipated challenges that may arise in the future so that, as our mission states, we cement our global position as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy.”
During the two meetings; the Ministers;
Examined how SADC Member States whose combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stands at over US$841 billion can effectively harness the opportunities presented by expanded markets of the SADC Free Trade Area (FTA), the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Reaffirmed SADC’s commitment to improving resilience against external trade shocks by enhancing self-reliance on intra-SADC trade in goods and services and collaborating on industrialisation policies to enhance value addition and beneficiation of critical raw materials produced in the SADC region.
Directed the SADC Secretariat to expeditiously finalise the analysis of SADC's top 10 imports and exports based on priority regional value chains identified in the SADC Industrialisation Strategy. The analysis is meant to guide the development of strategic regional actions for promotion, production and trading of various imports and exports from the SADC region.
Commended the Republic of Angola, the second largest economy in the SADC region, for finalising her tariff offer to join the SADC FTA, marking a significant step in consolidating the FTA.
Directed the convening of a joint meeting of trade and legal experts to explore possible dispute settlement mechanisms to address trade-related disputes among SADC Member States with the view to facilitate and enhance intra-regional trade.
Urged Member States to support and promote the utilisation of the SADC Pooled Procurement of Services (SPPS) for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to accelerate the development of regional pharmaceutical manufacturing.
In view of the importance of regional cooperation and collaboration to develop the region’s abundant mineral resources to improve the living standards of the SADC citizens, the Ministers urged Member States to support and actively participate in the revision of the SADC Protocol on Mining and directed the Secretariat to speed up re-establishing of the Mining Ministerial Forum that will provide policy and strategic guidance on the mining sector in the SADC region.
Adopted the SADC Investment Climate Scorecard, a tool that was developed by the SADC Secretariat in collaboration with the European Union, the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to improve the business environment to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The Scorecard will help benchmark the state of reforms in the Region, monitor trends, facilitate dialogue across the SADC Member States, contribute to accelerating progress towards meeting SADC’s industrialisation and regional integration goals.
Adopted the recommendation of the 57th Meeting of the SADC Trade Negotiating Forum (TNF) to establish the SADC AfCFTA Consultative Forum as an ad-hoc structure to undertake regional consultations and facilitate a coordinated regional approach on AfCFTA matters.
Endorsed the Draft Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Strategy an Action Plan which aims to enhance the contribution of SMEs to industrial development and position SMEs to benefit from the AfCFTA Agreement.
Endorsed the SADC Investment Practical Guide- Investing in the SADC region, developed by the SADC Secretariat in collaboration with Ministries responsible for Investment and the SADC Investment Promotion Agencies to facilitate information access and dissemination on how to invest in the SADC region. The Guide provides practical guidance to policy makers, potential investors, international organisations and Development Finance Institutions on the trade and investment opportunities and potential of SADC Member States.
Urged SADC Member States that have not yet signed or ratified the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement to expedite their processes as the TFTA, with its 29 Member States/Partners, will significantly influence the progress of the AfCFTA, which aims to create a single continental market. In this regard, the Ministers directed the SADC Secretariat, in coordination with the Tripartite Task Force comprising the Secretariats of COMESA, EAC and SADC, to prepare the Tripartite Summit to, amongst others, celebrate the entry into force of the TFTA Agreement on July 25, 2024, following the ratification of 14 Member States/Partners.
Urged Member States to participate in the 8th SADC Industrialisation Week and Exhibition which has been launched and is scheduled to be held from 28 July to 1 August 2025, in Antananarivo, Republic of Madagascar under the theme: Advancing industrialisation, agricultural transformation, and energy transition for a resilient SADC.
Congratulated individuals and entities that won the 2025 SADC Quality Awards, an annual competition that aims to encourage individuals and entities in the SADC region to apply and comply with international standards in their day-to-day operations. To this end, the Ministers urged Member States to organise National Quality Award competition and encourage the winners of the national competition to participate in the regional competition as part of the promotion of adherence to quality and standards to enhance competitiveness of goods and services.
The 44th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in August 2024 in Harare, Republic of Zimbabwe adopted the theme: “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustained Economic Growth and Development towards an Industrialised SADC.” At the centre of this theme is the call for the SADC region to collectively harness science, technology and innovation to support the modernisation and industrialisation of the SADC region.
