Your Majesty,
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Your Excellency, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
My colleague the Deputy Prime Minister,
Honourable Ministers,
Honourable Leader of the Opposition,
Executive Secretary of SADC,
Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies & Gentlemen,

It is an immense pleasure for me this morning to extend to all of you a very warm and fraternal welcome to this small island Member State of SADC. Mauritius is deeply honoured to have been given the privilege of hosting the SADC Summit for a second time.

Although hundreds of kilometres of sea separate us in Mauritius from our brothers and sisters of the SADC countries on the African mainland, we are indivisibly bound together by our common objectives and endeavours and our shared vision of SADC as a powerful and prosperous community of nations in Southern Africa.

Perhaps more than any other regional grouping, we, in SADC, constitute a diverse group of nations, ranging from least developed countries, small islands and land-locked states to countries with vast land masses and resources and with considerable industrial potential. It is equally true that the differences arising from such diversity inevitably result in experiences, outlooks and aspirations which differ from one individual nation to the other. Indeed, it is important that we acknowledge this diversity and turn it into an advantage which can benefit each and everyone of us.

(continues)
But beyond these differences, born of history and geography, we, SADC nations, constitute a growing family with dynamic complementarities. It befalls upon us to bring these complementarities to the fore and to focus on them with a view to making of SADC not only a united trading block ready to take on the opportunities and challenges presented by the multilateral trading system, but also a union of countries resolute in their determination to forge ahead towards a brighter future.

This morning, as I had the pleasure of greeting you and exchanging a few words with you on your arrival at this Conference Centre, I was deeply alive to and comforted by our collective commitment to the SADC cause. I trust that this commitment will serve not only to make of this Summit a success but also to make of SADC an example of what regional integration can achieve. As I have had the opportunity of mentioning last night, we are meeting here in Mauritius at a defining moment with many daunting challenges facing us. It will be up to us to collectively take up successfully these challenges, and at the same time, to bring SADC to a higher level of integration.
Je suis confiant que, tous ensemble, nous saurons mettre en place les stratégies nécessaires pour non seulement affronter mais surmonter ces défis auxquels nous sommes appelés à faire face.

Distinguished guests,

Allow me to also extend a very warm welcome to all the spouses who have graced us with their presence at this Summit. Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, welcome to our island and I wish you all a pleasant stay with us.
I thank you.