Luanda - President João Lourenço's tenure in the rotating leadership of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has capitalized on the focus on solid peace and the search for credible and competitive partners to boost regional development, Angolan Ambassador to Nigeria, José Bamóquina Zau said in Abuja.
The Angolan diplomat provided the information to the SADC Group in Nigeria, which celebrated Saturday, in the Nigerian capital, the 32nd anniversary of the bloc's foundation as an instrument of cohesion and regional cooperation.
Bamóquina Zau, who made a satisfactory assessment of the mandate of the Angolan Head of State in the rotating presidency of SADC, maintained that, within the framework of his VISION 2050, SADC is emerging as a stable, competitive and effective region in international relations with a focus on industrialization, food security, adventure tourism and competitive universities.
The Angolan ambassador to Nigeria took the opportunity to invite West African businessmen to invest in the tourism industry in Southern Africa, considering that, by vocation, the region has the best natural structures, security and free mobility.
Specifically, he launched a challenge to West African businessmen to visit and invest in the Okavango-Zambezi Basins, the Lobito Corridor, the Namibe and Kalahari Dunes, the Victoria Falls and Livingstone Falls, Zanzibar Island, Cape Town, Botswana safaris, among others, 'where they can enjoy incredible beauties of nature that will remain forever in history'.
For his part, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Nigeria, Salaheddine IBRAHIMA, revealed that the strength of the Southern African Development Community should make the continent proud and inspire the achievement of the African Union's Agenda 2063.
Promoting Africa's positive stories
The Director-General of Voice of Nigeria, Malam Jibrin Ndace, offered the platforms of VON, Public Radio Station, to all SADC countries willing to work with her, to promote African languages, tell consistent and positive stories about Africa.
The celebration of SADC Day in Nigeria was marked by an art exhibition, tasting of the region's cuisine and Angolan folk dances, according to a press release to which ANGOP had access this Sunday.
President João Lourenço handed over the rotating presidency of SADC to his counterpart from Zimbabwe, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, during the 44th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the regional organization, held in Harare.
On the occasion, João Lourenço's speech was essentially filled with Angola's achievements in the twelve months of his tenure in SADC.
SADC, made up of 16 Member States, is the strongest regional cooperation organization in Africa. It was created in 1980 as the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) and, in August 1992, transformed into the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Its historic journey had great challenges, such as facing the hideous Apartheid regime then in force in South Africa, cementing the solidity of independence and the implementation of democratic systems with the regular holding of general elections. DC/DOJ
