Chakwera says Botswana trip for Sadc meet to help solve Mozambique insurgency

President Lazarus Chakwera on Friday morning left the country for for Gaborone, Botswana to attend the extraordinary SADC Troika Summit Meeting, saying the meeting is scheduled to tackle emerging security challenges the region if facing and that as incoming SADC Chair it was vital to attend the  summit.

Briefing reporters at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) before departure, Chakwera said his visit to Botswana would be an opportunity to look into security matters within the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.

“We have this emergency meeting where we are going to discuss the insurgency in Mozambique. Malawi is a contributing country with regards to peace keeping in DRC. I am an incoming Chair of SADC and therefore, I need to participate,” he said.

As an incoming SADC Chair, it is imperative that the president attends all meetings just like other troop- contributing countries (TCC) such as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Mozambique.

Vice-President, Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima, some cabinet ministers, traditional authorities and Tonse Alliance party members were available at the airport to see off the president.

This is the President’s first SADC meeting to attend having recently made official visits to five countries including, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and South Africa in a quest to cement bilateral relationships in the region since his ascendancy to the presidency.

Trade, agriculture, economy, security and transport are some of the key areas that have so far been tackled between Malawi and her counterparts.

Meanwhile, in Gaborene, Deputy Minister of Defence, Jean Sendeza has said that Malawi has always committed to ensure that there was peace and stability in the SADC region.

Speaking to the media on Thursday after attending the Ministerial Committee of the Organ, Defence and Security, a head of the Extraordinary Troika Summit in Gaborone Botswana, she said that Malawi as a member of SADC would support all efforts by the Organ to ensure that peace was maintained and enjoyed in the region.

Sendeza said that Malawi’s commitment for peace was demonstrated in the fact that it was one of the Troop Contributing Country (TCC)

“Malawi is always committed to ensure that we have peace in the region and in the meeting we have supported all proposals that will ensure that peace is maintained,” she said.

The Ministerial Committee of the Organ will precede the extraordinary Troika Summit, which will take place on Friday.

Malawi is one the three Troop contributing countries a long side South Africa and United Republic of Tanzania.

The extraordinary organ Troika Summit is a SADC organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, and is the body whose overall objective is to promote peace and security in the region in line with Article 2 of the SADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Keabetswe Masisi, who is the incumbent chairperson of Troica organ of the SADC, hosts the summit in Gaborone.