HARARE – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the European Union (EU) are set to convene a Ministerial Partnership Dialogue on 15 March 2025 in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The high-level meeting will focus on key areas of mutual interest, including peace and security, human and sustainable development, climate change, trade, and investment.
The dialogue will be co-chaired by Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Honourable Professor Amon Murwira, who currently serves as Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers, alongside Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable Radosław Sikorski. Minister Sikorski will represent the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission.
The Ministerial Partnership Dialogue aims to strengthen relations between SADC and the EU, fostering cooperation on economic policies, sustainable growth, and security in the region. Discussions will cover global, continental, and regional challenges affecting peace, security, and development, while also reviewing progress on the SADC-EU Cooperation and the 2021-2027 Multiannual Indicative Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa (MIP SSA).
The meeting will also celebrate the achievements of the SADC-EU partnership, particularly in implementing cooperation and financing agreements that support regional programmes in areas such as peace and security, trade, institutional capacity building, natural resource management, and digital transformation.
SADC’s representation at the dialogue will include its “Double Troika” Member States—Zimbabwe (current Chair), Angola (former Chair), and Madagascar (incoming Chair)—as well as Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia, which lead the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Affairs.
The EU will be represented by Minister Sikorski, senior officials from the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission, the Polish government, and EU Ambassadors to Botswana and SADC, as well as to Zimbabwe. The Ministerial Dialogue will be preceded by the SADC-EU Senior Officials’ Dialogue on 14 March 2025.
The SADC-EU Political Dialogue was launched in 1994 at a Ministerial Conference in Berlin, Germany, reaffirming the commitment of both parties to deepening their relationship. A resolution from the 2013 SADC-EU Ministerial Dialogue in Maputo, Mozambique, established the current framework, with annual Senior Officials’ Meetings and biennial Ministerial Dialogues, hosted alternately by the EU and SADC regions.
