I wish to pay tribute to Hon. Speaker da Piedade Dias dos Santos. He has been a leading and prominent figure in parliamentary cooperation and diplomacy for the SADC Region as he occupied the Presidency of the Forum during the period 2018-2020. He not only successfully represented the Parliament of Angola as Speaker, but also earnestly served as Chairperson to the Plenary Assembly of the SADC-PF and of its Executive Committee. In so doing, he put the regional interests and welfare of SADC citizens at the very fore of his mandate. Furthermore, he shared the uniqueness of the Portuguese tradition with the Forum and we were blessed by his innate discernment and strategic acumen which spoke volumes on his staunch experience as a previous Prime Minister of Angola (2002-2008) and Vice-President of the Republic (2010-2012). Hon. Speaker Piedade Dias dos Santos guided me when l served the Forum as Acting Secretary General in 2018 and eventually Secretary General of the SADC-PF in 2019. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his vision and tactical skills which have brought the Forum to adopt a revamped Strategic Plan and spearhead transformation to a SADC Parliament.

With the Parliamentary leadership change in Angola, the Forum wishes Hon. Speaker Piedade Dias Dos Santos a good continuation in his future endeavours and keenly looks forward to working with his successor Hon. Speaker Carolina Cerqueira who will undoubtedly pursue an able and promising collaboration at SADC-PF level.

Secretary General, SADC-PF