SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020–2030
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has made significant progress in advancing regional cooperation and integration since its establishment in 1980. With a population of 350 million in 16 Member States, SADC has evolved from being a coordinating conference into an active regional development community, making it a key building block of African unity through the African Union (AU). In pursuit of the regional integration agenda, since 1992, SADC Member States have signed 33 protocols and a number of declarations, charters, and memoranda of understanding on various matters, ranging from trade, mining, and finance and investment to illicit drugs, forestry, and shared watercourses, as well as the empowerment of women and young people. Of the 33 protocols, 25 have entered into force after having been ratified by two-thirds of the signatory Member States. Undoubtedly, these commitments and other initiatives have made a positive contribution towards improving the lives of SADC citizens.
The journey towards the attainment of SADC's Vision, Mission, and Common Agenda has demanded periodic reviews of regional strategic plans, including the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation (SIPO). The RISDP serves as a comprehensive development and implementation framework that has guided the integration agenda of SADC since 2005. The decision to develop the RISDP was taken by the SADC Extraordinary Summit, held in March 2001, in Windhoek, Namibia. The original 15-year strategic plan was approved by the Summit in 2003 and was launched in March 2004 in Arusha, Tanzania. The revised RISDP 2015-2020 was approved by the SADC Extraordinary Summit, held in April 2015, in Harare, Zimbabwe.
