A partnership framework dating to 2006
Cooperation through the SADC-ICP Dialogue Platform is governed by the Windhoek Declaration on a New Partnership between the Southern African Development Community and the International Cooperating Partners. Adopted in Windhoek, Namibia, in April 2006, the declaration provides the framework for that dialogue.
The framework draws largely on the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Its five principles are ownership, alignment, harmonization, managing for results and mutual accountability.
Trade, digital access and energy gains
SADC reported progress on several regional integration measures at a Council of Ministers meeting that ended on March 13, 2026, in Pretoria, South Africa, after two days of talks.
The figures included a modest rise in intra-SADC trade in manufactured goods, from 19% to 22%, and internet penetration of 54%. SADC also reported more than 14,000 megawatts of additional generation capacity and an increase in renewables' share of the regional energy mix, from about 25% to 38%.
Development plan review and regional financing
At the same meeting, ministers welcomed the independent Mid-Term Review and Risk Assessment Reports for the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030. They instructed the Secretariat to bring member states together for a technical workshop by June 2026 to examine the recommendations and revise the plan's implementation program.
The revised Implementation Plan was to give priority to flagship initiatives supporting regional growth, climate resilience, faster industrialization and better infrastructure connectivity.
Ministers also addressed the SADC Regional Development Fund (RDF), a regional financing mechanism established under the 2016 Agreement on its Operationalisation. They called on member states that had yet to sign or ratify the agreement to accelerate those steps while following their respective national procedures.
