SADC approves anti-terrorism Standby Force for Mozambique

The extraordinary summit endorsed the report of the chairperson on politics, defence and security cooperation and approved the mandate for the SADC Force Mission to the Republic of Mozambique, to be deployed under the SADC Standby Force in support of Mozambique

PRETORIA, June 23 (ANA) – The extraordinary summit of the Southern African Development Community which met on Wednesday has approved sending a SADC Standby Force in Mozambique to counter terrorism and extremism in Cabo Delgado.

“Summit endorsed the recommendations of the report of the chairperson on politics, defence and security co-operation and approved the mandate for the SADC Force Mission to the Republic of Mozambique, to be deployed under the SADC Standby Force in support of Mozambique to combat terrorism and acts of extremism in Cabo Delgado,” according to the the communiqué of the high level meeting.

The summit urged the member states in collaboration with humanitarian agencies to continue providing humanitarian support to the population affected by the terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado – including the internally displaced people.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was in the Mozambican capital Maputo on Wednesday, where he joined other regional leaders for the extraordinary summit of the SADC to discuss terrorism in the region.

The summit on Wednesday was a follow up of the extraordinary SADC double troika summit that took place in Mozambique on May 27.

Ramaphosa was accompanied by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor and Minister of State Security Ayanda Dlodlo.

Earlier this year, South Africa deployed soldiers to Mozambique on a mission to rescue its nationals after attacks by Islamic State-linked insurgents in the Cabo Delgado coastal town of Palma.

Ramaphosa said at the time the South African National Defence Force and other stakeholders were attending to the crisis on an ongoing basis.

South African national Adrian Nel was killed in the unrest in Palma in March. His body was repatriated at the same time as his father, brother and other South Africans were airlifted back home.

Regarding Covid-19, the summit of heads of state and governments on Wednesday noted the presence of new variants of the pandemic and urged the member states to step up genomic surveillance.

“Summit committed to enhance SADC regional capacities in research and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and other essential drugs and medicines including traditional and alternative medicines, the development of vaccines and the development of a regional framework on traditional and local indigenous medicines,” the communiqué stated.

“Summit urged member states to support the proposal for a temporary waiver of certain provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) to allow for a more efficient response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Naomi Mackay