Summit Statement for His Majesty King Mswati III, of the Kingdom of Eswatini and Chairperson of the Southern Africa Development Community(SADC) for the COMESA Summit of Heads of State
Madagascar 2016
Chairperson of the COMESA Authority,
Excellences, Heads of State and Government,
Chairperson of the COMESA Council of Ministers,
COMESA Secretary General,
Judge President of the COMESA Court of Justice,
Representative of the African Union,
Your Excellencies, Permanent Representatives to COMESA, High
Commissioners and Ambassadors,
Distinguished Delegates,
Invited Guests,
All Protocol Observed,
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my honour, on behalf of His Majesty, King Mswati III, Head of State of the Kingdom of Swaziland, to express his regret at not being able to attend this Summit in person owing to a commitment to other important national duties. I have the honour of delivering His Majesty’s statement to this gathering:
“It is my singular honour and privilege to be addressing their Excellences at this Summit of COMESA Heads of State and Government in this beautiful city of Antananarivo in the Republic of Madagascar. May I extend my profound thanks to the President, Government and people of Madagascar for the warm reception and generous hospitality that has been accorded to my delegation.
In the recent 36th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government that was held in the Kingdom of Swaziland, I had the privilege of being appointed Chairperson of SADC. The Summit reviewed carefully the issue of socio – economic development of SADC Member States and optimal regional integration. The Kingdom of Swaziland is proud to be part of the emerging family of three regional economic communities – COMESA, EAC and SADC - that are signatories to the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement of 2015. It will create new markets for the regional trade blocs, enabling 26 Member States to enjoy a substantially liberalized trade in goods and services. May I take this opportunity to call upon those countries, that have not yet signed, to do so, and those that have signed, to ratify and access the benefits within.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to COMESA for supporting SADC in the restoration of peace and security in this beautiful country. Our appeal to the people of Madagascar is to continue to maintain that, as well as adhering to the commitments made under both COMESA and SADC. The SADC Summit appreciated the political and economic progress made by the Republic of Madagascar, and underscored the importance of regional resource support to revive the economy.
For the agriculture sectors of the region, the 2015/16 season has been quite disastrous, owing to the effects of the drought conditions brought on by El Nino. This has adversely affected the region’s food security to a quite unprecedented degree. The region has been left with a cereal deficit of 9 million tonnes and almost 40 million people vulnerable and requiring both food and other humanitarian assistance. The SADC Summit has appealed to the international and regional communities for continued support to be provided to the affected population. My appeal to COMESA is for the organization of joint emergency response entities, with the necessary resources, that will be deployed to provide relief aid where there are emergencies and disasters in member states.
In relation to similar trading agreements elsewhere in the world, the volume of trade between countries in our respective regional economic communities is relatively low. There is a need for more substantial industrialization that will then provide the potential for value chain growth – adding value to primary and secondary products within our regional communities.
There should additionally be sharing and where practical, harmonization of strategy. The SADC Industrialisation Strategy 2015-2063 includes a heavy emphasis on infrastructure development in road, rail and electricity, and the benefits of faster regional integration. The Strategy is at the draft Costed Action Plan stage and there is much to gain from collaboration as COMESA takes its own strategy to its final stages of drafting. We should be working together to boost investment and resource mobilization from within, to increase our productive capabilities.
I would like to emphasise to Your Excellencies that I am passionate about transforming the region through investment and innovation, and especially through centres of excellence. Consistent with the African Union 2063 vision, the Kingdom of Swaziland has built the Royal Science and Technology Park and has recently announced the plan to establish the SADC University of Innovation and Transformation, with 300 scholarships to be awarded to students, in a bid to transform the region through the usage of intellectual property assets, channelled towards scientific research and innovation. My appeal to this Summit is for COMESA Member States to support and use the SADC University so that the region can compete in the trade in knowledge- based commodities and intangibles.
I conclude by wishing the COMESA Summit the most fruitful of deliberations. Thank you.”