South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) has described the ninth Southern African Development Community (SADC) Industrialisation Week, held at the Durban International Convention Centre, as demonstrating the “power of regional cooperation”. The event was a precursor to the forty-sixth SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government.

The Industrialisation Week also supported the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063. This had three elements – industrialisation, regional integration, and competitiveness.

“We will work closely with the SADC secretariat to develop a roadmap that will help translate the outcomes into concrete actions that create jobs, expand regional value chains and improve the lives of our people,” assured dtic deputy-director general of trade Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter. “We must consistently be mindful of the fact that sustainable industrial development cannot be achieved by governments alone; strong partnerships between governments, the private sector, development finance institutions, academia, research institutions and development partners remain essential for mobilising investment, supporting innovation and accelerating implementation of regional industrial priorities.”

Outcomes from the event included commitments to stimulate the beneficiation of agricultural products and critical minerals to achieve maximum economic value for the region, and to ensure increased public and private investment in industrial infrastructure. This infrastructure included digital connectivity, energy, industrial parks, logistics and transport. Further, the participants committed themselves to reinforce regional industrial value chains, to raise production, increase value addition and stimulate intra-SADC trade and industrial competitiveness.

“Our citizens will judge our success not by the quality of our discussions, but by the industries we establish, the jobs we create, the technologies we develop and the opportunities we provide for future generations,” highlighted SADC deputy executive secretary Angele Makombo N’tumba. “Industrialisation is not a competition among member States. It is a shared regional journey where each country contributes its comparative advantage while benefitting from a larger, integrated regional market.”