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Summit also received a report on preparations for the 2nd Tripartite Council and
Summit to be held in June in South Africa, noting progress towards the launch of
negotiations for the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area, and endorsed the
pillars of the Tripartite integration process as – Market Integration, Infrastructure
Development, and Industrial Development.
2011-2012 The 31 SADC Summit was held in Luanda, Angola on 17-18 August

st
2011, hosted and chaired by President José Eduardo dos Santos.

Review of Regional Strategic Plan
The 31st SADC Summit directed the Ministerial Task Force on Regional
Economic Integration to review the Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan (RISDP) to reorient the SADC integration agenda to strengthen
developmental integration. A desk assessment by the SADC Secretariat in 2010-11
reviewed performance, challenges and lessons learned during implementation in the
period 2005-2010. This formed the basis for an independent mid-term review on a
strategic framework for the remaining period of implementation, and review of longer
term strategies.

Infrastructure
The status of implementation of the regional infrastructure
60 programme was reviewed, especially power projects,
regional corridors and ICT, which include the Kazungula
Bridge, the Chirundu One Stop Border Post, the
Zimbabwe-Zambia-Botswana-Namibia Interconnector and
the EASSy Project for an East Africa Submarine Cable
System. The Summit underscored the role of infrastructure
in regional integration and urged the speedy conclusion of
the Infrastructure Master Plan.

Harmonising the Management of Shared Natural Resources
On 18 August 2011, the Presidents of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe
signed a Treaty to replace the MOU, thus establishing the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier
Conservation Area to harmonise the management of shared natural resources, deriving
equitable socio-economic benefits through sustainable use and development of natural and
cultural heritage resources. A joint report by the Development Bank of Southern Africa and
the Peace Parks Foundation predicts that the park, which includes the Victoria Falls between
Zambia and Zimbabwe, could eventually attract as
many as eight million tourists to the region annually,
creating opportunities for local communities and
employment for thousands of people.
Speaking at the launch in Kasane, Botswana
on 15 March 2012, the partner states reaffirmed their
commitment to regional economic integration
through sustainable management of transboundary
natural resources, as agreed in the SADC Protocol
on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement, and
supported by other protocols on forestry, shared
watercourses and others, as well as the regional
biodiversity strategy.