Angola, Mozambique and South Africa will launch the SouthernAfrica Development Community (SADC) Group in Vietnam on November 30.

The launch was announced in a joint pressbriefing held by the Embassies of Angola, Mozambique and South Africain Hanoi on November 29.

According toMozambique Ambassador Gamiliel Munuamble, the Group will create aplatform for SEDC member countries to meet and exchange views andinformation on a number of issues pertaining to the organisation, aswell as coordinate actions within the context of the relationship withthe host state and other international partners residing in the country.

The SADC Group in Hanoi will focus on promotingand coordinating SADC policies to its member countries in Vietnam,while stepping up the SADC international agenda of cooperation byidentifying international partners and promoting the organisation’spotential. It will promote cooperation between SADC and Vietnam aswell as with regional economic organisations including ASEAN.

SADC, currently chaired by Mozambique, was created in April,1980. Initially the Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference(SADCC), it later turned into the Southern Africa Development Community(SADC) in August, 1992.

The SADC Community iscomposed of 15 countries: Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic ofCongo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia,Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, the United Republic of Tanzania,Zambia and Zimbabwe which have a total population of 257.7 millionand a GDP of 471.1 billion USD.-VNA