Ambassador Mahmoud Thabit Kombo (MP), Tanzania’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, is set to preside over the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ministerial Committee of the Organ (MCO) on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation, which begins today at Julius Nyerere International Conference Center(JNICC) in Dar es Salaam.
According to Minister Kombo, the two-day meeting will deliberate on the state of peace and security in the SADC region, assess achievements and challenges in implementing SADC’s mandates, explore strategies for conflict prevention, management, and resolution, and strengthen early warning systems across political, security, social, and economic sectors.
The ministerial session follows a preparatory meeting of SADC Senior Officials, held from July 21 to 22, chaired by Tanzania’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Dr. Samwel Shelukindo.
Other key items on the agenda include reviewing progress on the implementation of decisions made at previous meetings of the MCO, the Council of Ministers, and the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government. The ministers will also assess the region’s political landscape and discuss efforts to promote democracy and good governance.
The meeting is being hosted in Tanzania as the country currently chairs the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security. President Samia Suluhu Hassan assumed the chairmanship of the Organ on August 18, 2024, for a one-year term.
