Skukuza – Foreign affairs ministers from across the Southern African Development Community wrapped up a three-day strategic retreat at Skukuza in the Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga, on Saturday, 24 May 2026, with a renewed commitment to collective action in the face of growing global pressures.
The retreat, held from 22 to 24 May 2026, was convened following a decision by the SADC Council of Ministers at its March 2026 meeting in South Africa, to assess the impact of evolving global geopolitical developments on the region.
Ministers acknowledged the weight of challenges confronting Southern Africa, including intensifying geopolitical rivalries, the ongoing Middle East conflict, climate-related pressures, and disruptions to global trade, energy, tourism and financial systems. They noted that these factors were driving higher food and fuel prices, exchange rate volatility and increasing risks to food and energy security across member states. 
Discussions at the retreat were structured around five thematic areas: infrastructure, transport and logistics, and the free movement of people, goods and services; industrialisation, value chains and trade; energy, oil and gas and mineral resources; agriculture, agricultural inputs, supply chains, markets and food security; and financing regional integration, investment, public debt management and domestic revenue mobilisation.
Ministers agreed that the outcomes of the retreat should serve as a practical roadmap for accelerated implementation, enhanced accountability and strengthened regional coordination.
The retreat concluded with the adoption of the Skukuza Outcome Statement, in which ministers reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening regional solidarity, enhancing policy coherence, strengthening regional institutions and deepening cooperation to build a more resilient, self-sustaining and competitive SADC region.
The statement also renewed the bloc’s commitment to advancing SADC Vision 2050, which envisions a common future within a regional community that ensures economic well-being, improved standards of living and quality of life, freedom, social justice, and peace and security for the people of Southern Africa.
