The Republic of Zimbabwe will host the Southern African Development Community (SADC) 34th Meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Trade (CMT) and 24th Meeting of the Ministerial Task Force (MTF) on Regional Economic Integration in Harare on 5th June 2025.

The meetings will be opened and chaired by Honourable Prof. Amon Murwira, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Chairperson of SADC Council of Ministers in his capacity as the Chairperson of the 34th CMT and 24th MTF.

The Committee of Ministers of Trade will, amongst other trade matters, discuss the analysis of Top 10 SADC Imports and Exports and the Geopolitical developments related to the imposition of new tariffs on imported products and their implications on the SADC region. They will also discuss progress in the implementation of the decisions of the 33rd meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Trade; implementation and consolidation of the SADC Free Trade Area (FTA), accession of Member States to the SADC Protocol on Trade and elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers; Additionally, the Meeting will discuss the implementation of various trade-related frameworks and instruments that are aimed at facilitating intra-regional trade in the region such as the SADC Regional Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Framework, SADC Regional Customs to Business Framework and SADC e-Certificate of Origin (eCoO).

The Ministerial Task Force will, among other regional issues, discuss the progress made in the implementation of the decisions of the 23rd Ministerial Task Force meeting which was held in July 2023; receive an update on the implementation of the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap (2015-2063), a regional strategy whose primary orientation is technological and economic transformation of the SADC region through industrialization, modernization, skills development, science and technology, financial strengthening and deeper regional integration.

Specifically, the Ministerial Task Force will review and discuss progress on the pillars of the Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063 namely, Industrialisation, Competitiveness, Regional Integration and Cross-Cutting issues with the overall objective of driving the SADC Industrialisation Agenda to spur economic growth and poverty eradication in the region. 

The 34th Meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Trade and 24th Meeting of the Ministerial Task Force on Regional Economic Integration will be preceded by the meeting of Senior Officials on 2-3 June 2025.

SADC is an organisation of 16 Member States established in 1980 as the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC) and later, in August1992, transformed into the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The mission of SADC is to promote sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development through efficient, productive systems, deeper cooperation and integration, good governance and durable peace and security; so that the region emerges as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy.

The 16 Member States are Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. South African Development Community