President Lazarus Chakwera will take over as chairperson of Southern African Development Community (SADC) in August, 2021
This has been announced today during a virtual meeting where members of the organisation elected Malawi as the incoming chairperson. The country will replace Mozambique, which is the current chairperson.
During the summit today, Chakwera asked new SADC chairperson, Mozambique’s Filipe Nyusi, to fully liberalise trade across the SADC region and unlock economic possibilities for people in the region.
He said Malawi is an eager partner in the quest to liberalise trade in the region.
Chakwera added that he has never believed that Malawi is land-locked but rather land-linked since the country is linked to other SADC brothers on all sides.
“All of us as Sub-Saharan African nations feel this brotherhood that binds us very deeply, for it is a brotherhood that predates our colonial borders and transcends our individual statehood. What remains is for us to resolve once and for all to give this brotherhood its fullest expression in the areas of economics and development. 
“I believe that the combination of strengths and shared values between us in this present moment represents a unique opportunity to achieve this within the next few years, an opportunity worth seizing. I also believe that it is a divine opportunity, for it is by the Providence of God that we are bound to one another by history, culture, and a shared journey of liberation,” Chakwera said.
Before Chakwera spoke, Tanzania President John Magufuli handed over the chairmanship of the SADC to Nyusi.
In his speech, Magufuli mentioned the Coronavirus pandemic as a challenge and he asked people in the region to work together.
