BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini has left the country to Botswana and Uganda.
The first destination of this international assignment, which is Dlamini’s first one in 2025, is Botswana. According to information from Eswatini Government, In Botswana, the prime minister will represent His Majesty King Mswati III and the nation at a meeting with the President of Botswana, His Excellency (HE) Duma Gideon Boko, and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, His Excellency (HE) Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane.
The PM will then proceed to Kampala, Republic of Uganda, to attend the Extraordinary Summit on the Post Malabo Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). According to information from the African Union (AU), the summit is expected to take place from January 9 to 11, 2025 and it will be hosted by the Government of Uganda at Speke Resort Conference Centre in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
During the event, dignitaries will deliver statements on the consideration of the Kampala Declaration, the CAADP Ten-Year Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035); the draft Statute of Africa Food Safety Agency; and the report on selection of African Union Centres of Excellence for Research and Training in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystems Management.
CAADP has been crucial in driving agricultural transformation across Africa since its inception in 2003. The program is aimed at increasing food security and nutrition, reducing rural poverty, creating employment, and contributing to economic development while safeguarding the environment. CAADP aims for a 6 percent annual growth rate in the agricultural sector, with African Union member states allocating at least 10 percent of their budgets to agriculture.
Building on the Maputo Declaration (2003-2013), the 2014 Malabo CAADP Declaration renewed commitment to CAADP and established ambitious goals for 2025, including eradicating hunger, reducing malnutrition, tripling intra-African trade, and building resilience of livelihoods and production systems. The Malabo Declaration underscored the importance of mutual accountability through agricultural biennial reviews and recognised the essential role of related sectors like infrastructure and rural development.
