Durban

President Dr. Patrick Herminie joined fellow Heads of State and Government at the Official Opening Ceremony of the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit, held at the Durban International Convention Centre.

South Africa formally assumed the Chairpersonship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) during the Ceremony.

His Excellency Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, opened proceedings as Interim Chairperson, setting the tone for a Ceremony that opened with a vibrant cultural performance before President Herminie took to the podium to deliver his maiden address to the Summit.

The Ceremony's defining moment came with the formal handover of the SADC Chairpersonship, as His Excellency Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, passed the mantle of regional leadership to President Ramaphosa, who accepted the Chairpersonship before the Assembly.

President Herminie thereafter joined his regional counterparts in closed session, where deliberations on the Summit's agenda got underway.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Seychelles.

President Dr. Patrick Herminie held talks with members of the Seychellois diaspora in South Africa on the first day of his visit to Durban, reaffirming the Government's commitment to strengthening ties with Seychellois living abroad. He was joined by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Ambassador Barry Faure; the Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, Ms. Jeniffer Vel; and the Acting High Commissioner of Seychelles to the Republic of South Africa, Mrs. Veronique Morel.

The President underscored that the diaspora's importance to national development is reflected in the establishment of a dedicated Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora. Engaging directly with attendees, he learned of the wide-ranging careers and expertise within the diaspora, spanning business, education, health and tourism, several in fields facing demand at home. He committed the Government to pursuing concrete arrangements to harness the diaspora's expertise in service of Seychelles' development.

President Herminie shared his vision for the country to move forward in its development, stating that "the time of animosity is over". He stressed that Seychelles needs all of its people and spoke of the steps being taken to restore peace and unity among the nation.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Seychelles.

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The Seychelles delegation, led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Mr. Barry Faure, participated in a High-Level Panel Discussion on “Liberty, Faith and Institutional Trust in the Southern African Region,” held in Durban, Republic of South Africa, on the margins of the SADC 46th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government.

The panel brought together government, legal, faith and civil society representatives to examine detention, fair trial rights and institutional trust across the region.

Addressing the panel, Minister Faure underlined that while the law may prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, political will is essential to guarantee into practice. He pointed to the Commission of Inquiry established to independently investigate human rights violations at the Montagne Posée Prison, materialising the government's commitment to confronting past failures and upholding the rights of detained persons.

The Minister also called for continued regional learning on human rights, citing Seychelles' own transitional justice process through the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Republic of Seychelles.

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President Dr. Patrick Herminie will attend the 46th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government, taking place in Durban, South Africa, from 15th to 19th August 2026.

The official Opening Ceremony of the Summit will take place on Monday 17th August, where President Herminie will deliver his maiden address to the Summit.

The President will be accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Ambassador Barry Faure, and the Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, Ms. Jeniffer Vel.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Seychelles.

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The Seychelles delegation, led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Ambassador Barry Faure, participated in the Council of Ministers meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), held in Durban, Republic of South Africa, ahead of the 46th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government.

Addressing the Council on the impact of ongoing global geopolitical developments, the Minister outlined Seychelles' response to shield its economy and citizens from the shocks stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.

The Minister drew attention to Seychelles' particular exposure as an import-reliant country and cautioned that forecast El Niño conditions could compound pressures pertaining to food security. To face these challenges, the Minister called for the region to strengthen collective preparedness and to pursue more ambitious intra-SADC trade, highlighting the need for increased connectivity and the complementary strengths of continental Member States and island States.

As the current geopolitical events modify global shipping routes, Minister Faure reminded the Council that, while it may represent an opportunity for the region, SADC Member States have the responsibility to increase their efforts towards preserving maritime security.

During the opening of the meeting, the Outgoing Chairperson of the Council, Honourable Professor Amon Murwira, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe, handed over the SADC Council of Ministers Chairpersonship to Honourable Mr Ronald Lamola, MP, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa. The new Chair headed the Council as it examined a host of almost 80 Decisions that had been prepared by the Meeting of Senior Officials.

The Council of Ministers is one of the preceding meetings of the 46th Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government, to which the President of the Republic, Dr. Patrick Herminie, will be of attendance

The Minister was accompanied by Mrs. Veronique Morel, Acting Head of Mission at the Seychelles High Commission in South Africa, Ms. Elia Savy, Third Secretary, and Ms. Deerah Dufrene, Protocol officer.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Republic of Seychelles.

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As global demand for critical energy transition minerals (CETMs) continues to increase, local processing and value addition is the Southern African Development Community (SADC)'s fastest route to industrialisation and economic diversification.

The recent 9th SADC Industrialisation Week (SIW) and Exhibition, held in Durban South Africa, highlighted a key initiative promoting responsible mineral extraction.

Supported financially by the International Climate Initiative (IKI), the five-year regional project on responsible and inclusive energy transition mineral value chains is led by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). It is promoting responsible mining and sustainable industrialisation across the six SADC countries. 

From copper in Zambia, cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), manganese in South Africa and lithium in Zimbabwe, the SADC region is key to a clean energy future and to green industrialisation around the world.

Held under the theme, Resilient, Sustainable and Inclusive Industrialisation through Infrastructure Development, Agricultural and Critical Minerals Transformation in Pursuit of a Just World, the SIW underscored the critical importance of responsible mineral extraction.

“Our work, through the project on promoting ESG principles and responsible mining directly contributes to sustainable industrialisation because environmental governance is critical in shaping industrial policy across the SADC region,” said ECA Economic Affairs Officer, Oliver Maponga, noting that the responsible exploitation and value addition of critical energy transition minerals in the region was a key contributor to value chains development, industrialisation, transformation and economic diversification.

The project is being implemented in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe which hold vast reserves of cobalt, copper lithium, manganese, platinum group metals, and rare earth elements. The implementing partners in the project include the African Union Commission's African Minerals Development Centre; the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits Enterprise); WWF Germany, the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and Projekt Consult GmbH. The project will result in the development of ESG compliant mining policies, improved environmental and climate monitoring practices while ensuring participation and benefit sharing of local mining communities in mining-related governance and the strengthened capacity of communities in mining areas.

A panel convened by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and ECA during the Industrialisation Week, on "Towards Competitive and Resilient Industrialisation in SADC” focused on enhancing industrial competitiveness by aligning regional policies with the needs of enterprises, traders, and mining communities and on artisanal small-scale miners as key actors along the CETMs value chain.

The discussion focused on how artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) contributes to the critical energy transition mineral value chains and how they should not be left behind in the sharing of benefits.

“Artisanal and small-scale miners occupy important nodes in the supply of critical energy transition minerals as reliable sources of the minerals despite their technological, financial and skills limitations,” said Maponga. “We need to ensure that the benefits that result from responsible mining and processing of critical energy transition minerals trickle down to the entire mining value chain.”

The empowerment of artisanal and small-scale miners in responsible mining value chains is a key recommendation in the United Nations Secretary-General's Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals.

Speaking at the SIW, the SADC Executive Secretary, Elias Magosi, noted that the regional body was endowed with the mineral resources, markets and partnerships needed to industrialise. What is needed is to prioritise industrialization through investing in infrastructure and skills, transforming agricultural value chains, and beneficiating critical energy transition minerals at source.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

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South Africa's efforts to modernize critical infrastructure and unlock job creation by tackling long-standing bottlenecks in electricity, freight transport, and water and sanitation services, got a boost with support from the World Bank Group. The new financing is expected to help create almost 600,000 new direct and indirect jobs by 2032, according to World Bank Group economic modeling of how the reforms ripple through the broader economy.

The $1.5 billion International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan is the fourth in a series of stand-alone Development Policy Loans to South Africa since 2022. The operation builds on reforms that are already showing results: load shedding has been virtually eliminated for a year and a half, private investment in renewable energy has increased sixfold, and rail and port freight volumes have risen by more than 50% since 2023. It is the first of these stand-alone operations to extend support to water and sanitation, alongside continued reforms in electricity and freight transport.

Key reforms supported by the operation include the launch of a competitive wholesale electricity market and scaled-up private investment in transmission, with a target of 300,000 new household electricity connections by December 2027. In freight transport, the program supports competition among private rail operators and the country's first-ever port terminal concession in Durban. In water and sanitation, it strengthens regulatory oversight, opens the door to private water service providers, and gives the newly established National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency greater autonomy to invest in bulk water infrastructure.

Most of the nearly 600,000 projected direct and indirect jobs will come from the reforms in the electricity and transport sectors which together are expected to support around 280,000 jobs by 2027, rising to over 560,000 by 2032. Policy reforms will improve management efficiency and scale up private investment in rail, ports, and energy infrastructure, lowering business costs and supporting additional investment and employment in other sectors. Water and sanitation reforms are not expected to directly create large numbers of jobs, as major users like agriculture and mining already rely on alternative sources, but they are projected to bring concrete improvements for millions of households, including less time spent collecting water, lower health risks, and better access for the poorest female-headed households.

"This program reflects our government's determination to remove the infrastructure constraints that have held back growth and job creation for too long," said Enoch Godongwana, South Africa's Minister of Finance. "Working with the World Bank Group, we are deepening reforms already delivering results in energy and transport, while for the first time tackling the governance and investment gaps in our water sector that affect millions of households, particularly the poorest."

"South Africa has shown that sustained reform can turn around even deep-seated infrastructure crises," said Satu Kahkonen, World Bank Group Division Director for South Africa. "By extending this support to water and sanitation for the first time, we are helping ensure the benefits of reform reach every household, while these efforts together are expected to help create almost 600,000 jobs and attract much-needed private investment."

The operation was prepared in coordination with development partners active in South Africa's infrastructure sector, including Germany, Japan, the OPEC Fund, and the African Development Bank.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.