The president of the SADC Parliamentary Forum has said the Forum's transformation into a regional Parliament, once completed, would enable the institution to contribute to the regional integration agenda.

Tokely Justin, who is also the Speaker of Madagascar's Parliament, led the delegation of MPs under the Forum to a courtesy call on President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at State House.

In 2022, the regional leaders adopted the agreement to establish the SADC Parliament as one of the institutions of SADC under Article 9 of the SADC Treaty.

Since then, 13 of the 16 member states, including Namibia, have signed the agreement amending the SADC Treaty to transform the Parliamentary Forum into a regional Parliament.

The SADC Parliamentary Forum delegation discussed this and other matters pertinent to regional integration during a courtesy meeting with President Nandi-Ndaitwah.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah said the visit by the SADC Parliamentary Forum is timely as the region is counting on the work of its lawmakers.

The SADC Parliamentary Forum delegation, comprising members of parliament from SADC states, was in Windhoek for the Forum's inaugural and orientation meeting.