SADC industrialization week kicks off
CLOUDINE MATOLA
The SADC Industrialisation Week (SIW), which kicked off Sunday, seeks to promote intra-African trade, develop cross border value chain as well as identifying investment opportunities in the SADC region.
The Zimbabwean government through the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, in collaboration with SADC secretaries, the SADC Business Council, and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry, is hosting the SADC Industrialization Week in the capital Harare.
It runs up to August 2, 2024.
Information Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere, who presided over a Media Awareness Day, gave an overview of the event.
“The SADC industrialization week aims to foster intra-African trade, develop cross-border value chains, and identify investment opportunities in the SADC region through public-private partnerships. The premier event aims to promote industrialization, to showcase investment opportunities across various value chains, and facilitate networking among stakeholders in the industrial sector,” Dr Muswere said.
Zimbabwe is going to assume the chair of the bloc.
Dr Muswere said Zimbabwe, in 2014, played a leading role in the formulation and advocacy of the SADC industrialization strategy, which was subsequently adopted by member states.
The SADC industrialization project was established in 2016 and the Council of Ministers endorsed the decision to annually convene the SIW on the margins of the SADC summit of heads of state and government to popularize the strategy.
The first SIW was held in Eswatini, the second in South Africa, the third in Namibia, the fourth in Tanzania, the fifth in Malawi, the sixth in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in 2023, the industrialization week was cancelled in Angola.
