South Africa will host a Southern Africa Customs Union Heads of State and Government Summit on 15 to 16 July 2010 at the Presidential Guesthouse, Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa.
The summit is a result of a decision taken at the Heads of State and government meeting on 22 April 2010 in Windhoek, Namibia during the SACU centenary commemoration, for an urgent need for an engagement by Heads of State and government on challenges facing the Customs Union.
The aim of the summit is to deliberate on the future strategic direction of SACU in the light of the challenges facing the organisation and recent global and regional integration developments, with a view to repositioning SACU as a vehicle for deeper economic integration amongst member states and in the Southern African region.
SACU comprises of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland, as member states, with a combined population of more than 55 million people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of over R2.200 billion.
The organisation owes its endurance over a period of 100 years to its ability to adapt to the rapidly changing political and economic environment.
During that period, the organisation has seen many achievements in the form of laying a meaningful legal foundation, establishing common institutions, facilitating intra-SACU trade and promoting trade with the rest of the world, just to mention a few.
SACU has, however, faced several challenges in the last years, thus calling for the renewal of the 2002 SACU agreement.
These challenges include limitations in the 2002 SACU agreement with increasing demands to broaden the scope of the agreement to include areas such as trade in services, finance and investment, government procurement, environment, and market and monetary integrations.
In this regard, it is expected that Heads of State and government will use this opportunity to engage on these challenges and provide strategic direction that will enhance SACU's potential as an effective instrument for deeper integration amongst member states and within the Southern African region.
The media is invited to a media briefing on Friday, 16 July 2010 at the Presidential Guesthouse at 15h00. Journalists are requested to send their names and identity (ID) numbers for accreditation to:
Kgothatso Chuene
E-mail: KChuene@thedti.gov.za
Contact:
Sidwell Moloantoa Medupe
Tel: 012 394 1650
Cell: 073 522 6801
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
Willem Nekwiyu
Tel: +264 61 295 8010
Cell: +264 81 129 6065
E-mail: willem.nekwiyu@sacu.int or sacu@info.int
