The Southern African Development Community (SADC) kicked off its annual summit in Maseru on Thursday, aiming to further boost economic integration and development in the region.

Heads of state and government from 13 out of the 14 member countries, with a minister representing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), attended the opening ceremony of the two-day meeting, which was officially declared open by King Letsie III of the Kingdom of Lesotho.

"SADC is one of the most peaceful regional economic communities in our continent," said SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Salomao, "and we are frankly and surely moving forward to a more vibrant socio economic community that has the welfare of its citizens at the center of its agenda."

He congratulated the people of DRC for the peaceful manner, in which they conducted their first democratic elections since 1960, while commending the role played by SADC member states.

However, Salomao said that the region's determination to succeed is not without challenges, with a large number of people living in absolute poverty, compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and chronic food insecurity.

Festus Mogae, Botswana president and outgoing SADC chairman, said that the region has made progress towards the attainment of the vision of building a community of free people with a shared future.

But with regard to the integration agenda, Mogae said that the past 12 months, during which he had served as the chairperson of the community, have not been as fruitful as hoped.

"As a regional organization, we still have a problem implementing any of our targeted development programs with our own resources," he said.

He called for "a spirit of self-reliance" in the community, saying that the implementation of development agenda cannot depend on funding from international partners, and the region should show commitment by contributing significantly more from its own resources towards programs and projects.

Taking over the helm of the bloc from Mogae as the new SADC chairman, Prime Minister of Lesotho Pakalitha Mosisili said that since the expectation of the people on the SADC community is very high, the leaders should take efforts to make sure that even those people living in villages feel like they are in the center of the SADC.

Mosisili pledged to fulfill his mission in leading the community towards its development targets just as what his predecessor has done, from which he said he could draw a lot of experience.

The leaders are expected to deliberate on the implementation of the region's economic integration agenda, including a protocol on finance and investment, which is critical for the integration process. They will also discuss pertinent regional issues such as poverty reduction, food security and HIV/AIDS.

According to the SADC secretariat, the Draft Protocol on Finance and Investment will be tabled before the summit for approval and signature, together with 10 draft agreements amending various protocols.

The summit will also receive progress reports towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the operationalization of the SADC Tribunal as well as reviewing the regional socioeconomic situation.

Various prominent guests including the President of the African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka, and the United Nations Under-Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Commission for Africa Abdoulie Janneh also attended the opening ceremony.

The summit is also expected to consider an application by Seychelles for readmission into the regional body. Seychelles pulled out of SADC in 2004, citing financial problems.

SADC is a major regional body in Africa with a total population of over 230 million that accounts for almost one third of the population of the African continent.

It currently has 14 member states, namely: Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2006)