The Comoros became the 16th SADC member state during the 37th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, in August 2017. The Comoros ambassador said they would seek dialogue on the Mayotte Island and will take the issue up with SADC to ask for the solidarity of all member states. Relations between Comoros and France remain fragile, as the Comoros claim the island of Mayotte is part of its territory. The Comoros is hoping to trade in main cash crops such as vanilla, ylang-ylang and clove. He said that with the SADC membership they can now import goods from other member states instead of Europe and the US, which is an expensive undertaking.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 29, 2018 08:26 UTC