President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has called on Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states to prioritise youth empowerment through the creative industry and digital transformation.
“We must also empower the youth with skills, enabling them to compete with their peers worldwide, particularly in the area of creative industry, information and communication technology and digital innovation,” she says.
Nandi-Ndaitwah was speaking at the 45th SADC Heads of State and Government Summit in Madagascar on Sunday.
The visit marks her first official meeting to Madagascar since being elected as Namibia’s president.
She urged member states to recognise the critical role women have played in the decolonisation of SADC states and the work they have done in helping shape the future of the SADC region.
Nandi-Ndaitwah also called for collaborative efforts to improve women empowerment through collaborative efforts such as the newly launched Namibia International Women’s Peace Centre.
“My presence here today thus stands as a clear testament to our commitment to the empowerment of women and a recognition of the critical role women play, both in our societies and homes, in shaping the future of our nations and region,” she said.
These goals are in line with the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2030-2050 and the SADC Vision 2050.
The president also called for SADC states to collaborate in exporting finished natural minerals resources to ensure that more member states retain the benefits from their own natural resources to help strengthen the economy and ensure jobs.
The exportation of the finished minerals will also address the challenges confronted by food security and other socioeconomic problems that are gripping SADC communities.
This would help to create employment opportunities and improve the living conditions of people across the global south.
“By doing so, we will strengthen our economies, create jobs and retain more benefits from our natural resources. This would help to create employment opportunities to empower and build a brighter future for our people,” she said.
She emphasised strengthening peace and security challenges gripping the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We live in a world which is yearning for peace. A world where Africa and countries of the Global South are facing economic downturns, given the dynamic global geopolitics,” she said.
She also added that agriculture transformation, energy transformation and industrialisation advancements are critical in achieving food security and rural development.
“Together, we must join hands and work tirelessly to fulfill our fundamental responsibility, to advance initiatives and programmes that promote sustainable development, foster sustained economic growth and address the pressing challenges we face as a region,” she said.
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