Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable Dr I S G Mudenge

OPENING REMARKS BY THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, HONOURABLE DR. I.S.G. MUDENGE, AT THE MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE SADC ORGAN ON POLITICS, DEFENCE AND SECURITY : HARARE, 23 NOVEMBER, 2000

Honourable Ministers
Your Excellencies, members of the diplomatic corps,
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen

I extend a very warm welcome to you all to Harare and to this meeting. We are honoured by your presence in such large numbers. Although most of you are no strangers to Harare, we nevertheless wish that your stay with us, albeit brief for some of you, will be both productive and pleasant. As you will recall we have previously had to postpone our ministerial meeting of the organ twice because of time constraints. It is therefore imperative that we take full advantage of the present meeting to expedite our business as constructively and efficaciously as possible.

But before proceeding further, I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate our colleagues from Tanzania on their recent individual victories and that of the ruling party, the CCM, at the elections held last month in their country. You have our very best wishes as you carry out the new mandate that has just been overwhelmingly reposed in you by the people of Tanzania.

We have today some very important matters to consider and, as is often the case, limited time within which to fully attend to them. I will therefore make some brief remarks for the benefit of our friends from the media before we proceed with our deliberations in a closed session. We have today, essentially, two major preoccupations. Apart from briefing each other and exchanging views on recent developments in some SADC member states and in the region in general, we are also convened to consult further on issues pertaining to the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.

You will recall that the SADC Summits held in Blantyre, Maputo, Port Louis, and Windhoek considered the question of the structures and operations of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security. It is the wish of the Heads of State and Government that we make recommendations of these issues for their considerations.

Some work has gone into the preparation for today's meeting. It is my expectation and, I have no doubt, one shared by all of you that we should at the conclusion of our discussions, be in a position to submit recommendations to the Chairman of the Organ for presentation to his colleagues. We all share a common interest in having a viable, effective and appropriate mechanism for the co-ordination, promotion and defence of our shared peace and security objectives in the region. I am confident therefore that our discussions and proposals will aim at contributing to the further enhancement of the integration processes currently underway in our region with a view to maximising the mutuality of the benefits each and every one of us can derive therefrom.

I wish, with these brief remarks, to conclude my opening remarks. I thank you all for your attention.