President Nangolo Mbumba has expressed satisfaction with the high level of attendance and participation at the 44th Ordinary SADC Summit, noting that the presence of so many leaders reflects their commitment to addressing challenges and seizing new opportunities for the region's growth and development.

The summit was held in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The summit was convened under the theme "Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustained Economic Growth and Development towards an Industrialised SADC." 

It brought together leaders from the 16 SADC member states to discuss the shaping of the future of the region.

"The programme had points of concern, the Eswatini, because of this political arrangement now that is coming down, although they have a Prime Minister and are waiting on their new constitution, and they are making some progress but have not yet finished. The King of Eswatini was there, very patient with his situation. Things are moving much better; it was very relaxed, and now in Lesotho they have a Prime Minister who is organising everything. The situation in Mozambique is that, at least now, SADC forces that were there are reducing and are being withdrawn from; those from Botswana, those from Malawi, and those from SA are going back. It's also a good sign of a red-card war-like situation. We want peace, we want development, and we want to move within SADC as one block in Africa that is at peace.

Zimbabwe assumed the SADC chairmanship at the summit.

"President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is now the chairperson of SADC. The President of the Republic of Tanzania, Madam Hassan, of the organ. The organ is basically the organ in politics for peace and security that deals with day-to-day activities within the region. If theres a problem, they are the ones to meet first. We were part of it now we are out."

President Mnangagwa will steer the SADC agenda, focussing on driving innovation and industrialisation across the region.