Zambia to host troika ‘indaba’

ZAMBIA will be hosting the 21st meeting of the ministerial committee of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation from July 15 to 19, 2019, Minister of Foreign A airs Joseph Malanji has said.

Mr Malanji said the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation was the political arm of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) tasked with the mandate to support the achievement and maintenance of security and the rule of law in the SADC region.

He said at a media brie ng in Lusaka yesterday the Ministerial Committee Organ (MCO) was coordinated by the Troika, and for now comprises Zambia, as chair, Zimbabwe as incoming chair and Angola as outgoing.

Mr Malanji said President Edgar Lungu assumed the oneyear chairmanship of the organ in August last year and would be handing over the seat to Zimbabwe at the 39th SADC summit of heads of state and government to be held in Dar–es-Salaam in Tanzania next month.

He said the main function of the MCO was to coordinate the work of the Organ on Politics and Defence and Security Cooperation and its structures and reports to the chair of the organ.

MCO meets at least one year and reports to the SADC heads of state and government. Joe Malanji

“ e importance of the meeting cannot be over–emphasised. e decisions reached during this meeting will be brought before the SDAC heads of state at the SADC summit in August, 2019.

“ is MCO is particularly important to Zambia because it is being held during the tenure of President Lungu before he hands over to his counterpart, the President of Zimbabwe, during the summit in August next month,” Mr Malanji said.

The main function of the MCO was to coordinate the work of the Organ on Politics and Defence and Security Cooperation.