President Cyril Ramaphosa is leading the South African delegation at the Extraordinary Double Troika Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Maputo, Mozambique.
The SADC Extraordinary Double Troika will deliberate on the insurgency engulfing the region, including insecurity in the Cabo Delgado Province in the Republic of Mozambique.
Ramaphosa will be accompanied by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and Minister of State Security Ms Ayanda Dlodlo.
His Zimbabwean counterpart President Mnangagwa was seen off at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Service Chiefs, and senior Government officials as he heads to Maputo.
The meeting, which was initially scheduled for last month, was postponed owing to the absence of two Heads of State.
The Troika chairperson, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, could not attend after going into quarantine, following a contact with a person who later tested positive for the Covid-19, while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was attending to urgent domestic matters.
Also in attendance, President of Malawi Lazarus Chakwera is in Maputo. He was welcomed by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Mozambique Oldemiro Boloi and other Senior Government officials.
The SADC Troika is presently chaired by the Republic of Mozambique, with the Republic of Malawi as Incoming Chair and the United Republic of Tanzania as Outgoing Chair.
There has been heightened concern over growing terrorist activities in Mozambique especially following the insurgent attacks on Palma- a coastal town in Cabo Delgado province on March 24.
The Troika of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation consists of the Republic of Botswana as Current Chair, the Republic of South Africa as Incoming Chair and the Republic of Zimbabwe as Outgoing Chair.
These together constitute the SADC Double Troika. The Double Troika will be preceded by meetings of ministers and senior officials.