<\/p>\n
The meeting, held from May 22 to May 24 at Kruger National Park, brought together representatives from all 16 member states under South Africa\u2019s interim chairmanship.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Discussions centred on the impact of global developments, including geopolitical tensions, disruptions in trade routes and rising energy and food costs. Ministers noted that these pressures are contributing to inflation, exchange rate volatility and increased risks to food and energy security across the region.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ronald Lamola, SA\u2019s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, said the retreat aimed to identify practical measures to strengthen regional resilience. Lamola said member states reviewed existing capabilities and explored how resources within the region could be better utilised.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Energy and agriculture were identified as priority areas. Lamola said discussions included potential cooperation on refining capacity, gas resources and fertiliser production. Ministers also examined ways to reduce reliance on imports, particularly for agricultural inputs, ahead of the planting season.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The retreat also addressed migration, which has become a sensitive issue in SA. Lamola said migration remains a regional challenge that must be managed through legal frameworks and coordinated policies. Lamola said enforcement of immigration laws should remain the responsibility of authorities and not individuals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Participants emphasised the need to balance migration management with economic integration, including the movement of goods and labour across the region. Ministers noted that trade within Africa remains significant, with regional economies interconnected through production and export networks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The meeting identified five priority areas for action: financing regional integration, industrialisation and trade, infrastructure development, energy cooperation and food security.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ministers are committed to strengthening coordination among member states and improving policy alignment to support long-term development objectives. The outcomes are expected to inform further discussions at the sectoral level, with finance, agriculture and trade ministers set to engage on implementation measures.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":35368,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-35367","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Foreign affairs ministers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have concluded a three-day retreat in South Africa (SA), focusing on coordinated responses to global geopolitical and economic challenges affecting the region.","published_date":"","news_description":"Foreign affairs ministers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have concluded a three-day retreat in South Africa (SA), focusing on coordinated responses to global geopolitical and economic challenges affecting the region.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/35367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/35367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35369,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/35367\/revisions\/35369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=35367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}