The Southern African Development Community (SADC) dates back from the formation in 1975 of the Frontline States which originally consisted of Botswana, Mozambique and Tanzania, Angola joined in 1976. The Frontline States were constituted to fight against colonialism, racism and white minority rule. The group changed into the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC) in 1980 following the July 1979 Arusha Conference which agreed to launch the SADCC. The SADCC was launched on the Lusaka Declaration (April 1980) which adopted a programme of action to reduce economic dependence on South Africa; to forge links to create equitable regional integration; and to mobilise resources for implementing national and interstate policies. In 1992 the SADCC was transformed into the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by the signing of a treaty which defined the SADC membership’s binding commitments.
The transformation of SADCC into SADC was premised on the desire of the Southern African leadership to focus more on deepening economic cooperation and integration and on tackling the barriers to economic development in the region. As members of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group the SADC countries also benefitted from the one-way trade preferences offered by the European Union (EU) to its membership’s former colonies.