President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver his welcome address at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) solidarity conference with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic or Western Sahara, which will be held in Pretoria on Tuesday.
According to the presidency, the conference follows a decision taken at the 37th Summit of the SADC heads of state and government, held in Pretoria in 2017 to convene the Solidarity Conference with Western Sahara.
The conference will be officially opened by the chairperson of SADC, Dr Hage Geingob, president of Namibia.
Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko said the SADC Solidarity Conference with Western Sahara seeks, among other things, to reaffirm the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and applicable documents of the Organisation of the African Unity (OAU) and African Union (AU) as well as champion the implementation of the UN resolutions and OAU and AU decisions to allow the people of Western Sahara to exercise their right to self-determination.
“At the end of the conference, the SADC heads of state and government and participating heads of state and government from other regions as well as political party formations and other organizations are expected to issue a declaration on Western Sahara,” said Diko in a statement.
The conference will also be attended by former presidents and international organisations. The conference is preceded by a one-day meeting of the SADC ministers and ministers from other participating countries and regions as well as civil society organisations and political party formations currently taking place in Pretoria. (SPS)
062/SPS/CITIZEN.CO.ZA
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