Gaborone - The Angolan head of state, João Lourenço, on Friday expressed his satisfaction with the level of organization found in the Executive Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
João Lourenço was speaking after a meeting he held at the Presidential Palace in Gaborone with his Botswana counterpart at the end of his visit of a few hours to the headquarters of the SADC Executive Secretariat.
Although he regretted the fact that his second visit to Botswana in the space of a year was 'short, a few hours', he considered that he had a 'very intense but productive' working day as chairman-in-office of SADC.
'We like the high level of organization of the Executive Secretariat. In general, we have the guarantee that, with this team, the objective of regional integration is assured,' he said.
He highlighted the budgetary issues that, according to the head of state, are still very far from being considered satisfactory and in relation to which the organization has to dedicate a little more of its time 'to see if we have overcome the moment we are going through'.
As for the peace and security situation, he reiterated that the region continues to have two countries that inspire care, namely Mozambique and DRC, although it can be considered that, in relation to Mozambique, 'the trend is positive'.
'We will continue to work for peace and security to reign throughout the territory of our SADC region. Without peace there is no development, we need to be available, both in terms of time and resources, to think exclusively about the development of our region,' he said.
He deplored that, today, the region has been spending resources, when it should be making money, but that it is losing money to guarantee peace, in Mozambique and in the DRC.
Bilateral relations
On the relationship between Angola and Botswana, João Lourenço said there was a reciprocal interest and that the two countries have much to gain from deepening relations of friendship and especially economic cooperation.
He said he fully agreed with the position of his Botswana counterpart who advocated the need to implement, as soon as possible, everything that was agreed during his state visit to Botswana in June 2023.
He indicated that Angola is prepared for the two countries to hold a meeting of the bilateral commission at any time, but understands, at the same time, that, at the moment, Botswana is grappling with the task of preparing for the upcoming elections.
The statesman revealed that the two sides agreed to hold the meeting in Luanda immediately after the elections. IZ/ART/DOJ
