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SADC meeting

Swaziland’s King Mswati III has warned that crime and wars were acting as stumbling blocks to foreign investment in the Southern Africa region.

King Mswati was speaking at the opening of the official opening of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) 20th Inter-State Defence and Security Conference, in Swaziland on Thursday.

The Reuters news agency quotes the King as saying: “Economic development... can’t take place under conditions of lawlessness, crime and civil wars.” The King added: “Our counties are thirsty for direct foreign investment, but we know that we can never hope to succeed in attracting much needed investment unless we can assure potential investors of peace and security.”

Media sources attending the conference told IRIN on Friday that a dominant feature of the conference was likely to be the tension between Angola and Zambia. Angola has accused Zambia of giving military backing to the UNITA rebel movement. Zambia has denied the allegations.


This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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