Luanda – Angolan president João Lourenço received on Thursday in Luanda was briefed on the work being carried out by the Parliamentary Forum of the Southern African Development Community (SADC PF) in its process of becoming a regional parliament.
The clarification was made by the president of the SADC PF, Roger Mancienne, during an audience with the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, currently the SADC acting- president.
Mancienne said the initiative to turn the SADC PF into a regional parliament aims to harmonize the organization with the other four African regions, since the others already have their regional parliaments.
"If this happens, we will be the fifth region to join this network, which is why, on the part of President João Lourenço, we have received the assurance of his personal commitment and support for the fulfillment of this process," Mancienne said.
The Speaker of the Seychelles Parliament said the Angolan statesman has pledged to be the "voice and ambassador" of the SADC PF, in order to take this message to his SADC counterparts.
Roger Mancienne, who considered the meeting "very fruitful", said the president João Lourenço has been a very active player in the project to transform the SADC PF into a regional parliament.
Luanda is hosting the 55th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, attended by the leaders of the regional organization’s parliaments.
Established in September 1997, the SADC Parliamentary Forum, based in Windhoek, Namibia, provides a platform for dialogue between the parliaments of the 16 SADC member states on issues of regional interest.
It is attended by more than 3,500 parliamentarians from Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eswatini, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Seychelles, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. AFL/VIC/DAN/AMP
