President Dr Lazarus Chakwera has left Malawi for Maputo in Mozambique for an extraordinary double Troika SADC Summit.
Speaking on departure at the Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe on Thursday morning, Chakwera, who is also the incoming Chairperson for SADC, spoke of the need for Malawi to remain steadfast in fostering regional peace for uninterrupted social – economic growth.
Leaders at the Summit will deliberate on measures to address acts of sustained terror attacks by militias in Palma, a town in Cabo Delgado province in Northern Mozambique.
The town of Palma seats a few kilometres from Africa’s largest natural gas deposit, where France’s energy giant Total embarked on a $20bn project.
The militants, also locally known as Al – Shabab, are on record to have pledged their allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group
Aljazeera is reporting the three – year conflict has forced some 700, 000 people out of their homes, with more than 2,500 killed.
The SADC Summit is the overall policy – making institution of SADC. It is managed on a Troika system that comprises the current SADC chairperson, the incoming Chairperson and the immediate previous chairperson.
Among those who have seen off the Malawi leader to Maputo – Mozambique is State Vice President Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Chakwera is expected to return later this afternoon at 16.30 hours.