South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the opening ceremony of the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit in Durban, South Africa. Photo Credit: SADC

NNA News - Southern African leaders have called for deeper regional integration, stronger infrastructure links and greater cooperation to accelerate industrialisation and economic development as the 46th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) opened in Durban.

The summit, held under the theme “Resilient, sustainable and inclusive industrialization through Infrastructure Development, Agricultural and Critical Minerals Transformation in Pursuit of a Just World,” brings together SADC Heads of State and Government. SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi said the regional bloc was working to promote peace and security, expand trade and investment, strengthen infrastructure connectivity and deepen regional integration.

Magosi also called for an enabling environment that would allow young people to participate meaningfully in economic transformation, while urging member states to address regional challenges through closer cooperation. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, addressing the opening ceremony, said deeper regional integration was essential to unlocking Southern Africa’s economic potential and improving livelihoods.

SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi addresses the opening ceremony of the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit in Durban, South Africa.
Photo Credit: SADC

The region recorded economic growth of about 3.4 percent in 2025, while intra-SADC trade accounted for about one-fifth of total trade, Ramaphosa said. He noted that the region had yet to realise the full potential of its integrated market and called for stronger efforts to advance industrialisation and develop regional value chains.

Ramaphosa also urged greater investment in infrastructure, including roads and railways connecting member states and modern ports linking Southern Africa to continental and global markets. He highlighted energy, water and digital security as other areas requiring greater regional cooperation, alongside efforts to expand electricity generation and transmission capacity and strengthen climate-resilient food systems.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the opening ceremony of the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit in Durban, South Africa. Photo Credit: SADC 

The South African president said SADC should become a platform that enables businesses to access the wider African market of more than 1.4 billion people. “This requires us to remove non-tariff barriers, improve border management, harmonize standards and make it easier for goods, services, capital and skills to move across our region,” Ramaphosa said. At the summit, Ramaphosa succeeded Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa as SADC chairperson.