THE Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Benard Membe is expected to officiate the 15th meeting of the SADC Ministerial Committee Organ (MCO) on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation scheduled to officially start today in Dar es Salaam. A two-day meeting will spend time to discuss regional political and economic issues affecting SADC member states whereby the responsible country representatives will present in respect of the current situation going on in their respective countries. This is an annual meeting which has been preceded by a number of closed door sessions of the secretariat committee which started on Thursday and proceeded yesterday in which Tanzania becomes the Chair of the Organ. Tanzania assumed its chairperson of the Organ in August 2012 at SADC Summit which was held in Johannesburg-South Africa. According to the information officer in the Foreign Affairs ministry in the country, the yesterday’s closed door meeting was in progress as per the schedule as members of the secretariat had to prepare the minutes scheduled for discussion today.
Rosemary Balali said in an exclusive interview when contacted in her office that, today’s meeting would highlight all the matters put in discussion but journalists would not have access in. However, she added that a brief joint communiqué report will be issued to the media at the end of the meeting. On Thursday this week, the Deputy Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country, Ambassador Rajabu Gahama issued a media statement which clarified today’s meeting as saying that a number of issues related to politics, defense and security in the SADC region will be discussed. In other words, the MCO will be reviewing the political and security situation in the region and the implementation of the strategic indicative plan for the organ (SIPO), consolidation of democracy in the region. He further said that, the meeting will also addressed the political situation and the coming election in Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Madagascar. He said each member country will present a report with Tanzania to present a report on its agreement to deploy troops to restore peace in the DR-Congo.
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