An extraordinary summit of Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state and government is to be held soon to consider Zimbabwe's financing proposals.

A date and venue will only be decided after consultation with heads of state and government, but it will "probably be in South Africa", Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told a media briefing on Friday after the SADC council of ministers' meeting in Cape Town.

The meeting had agreed the summit should be held soon, "but not like tomorrow". It was likely to take place before the G20 meeting on April 2 in London.

"It is not easy to just call a meeting of heads of states," she said.

The purpose of the summit would be to "give impetus and support to what Zimbabwe is doing".

There had not been a SADC heads of state and government meeting since the new Zimbabwe unity government had been established following the global political agreement.

"So it is to support the government and... to give momentum to the work of the ministers of finance and SADC generally in trying to accompany Zimbabwe in the implementation of the global agreement, but also in the mobilisation of resources."

The Zimbabwe delegation's report entailed the short-term budgetary requirements for its economic recovery programme.

The SADC ministers responsible for finance and investment undertook to pursue measures supporting Zimbabwe's economic recovery programme.

Zimbabwe had indicated it would need about US$2-billion ? one billion in the form of credit and one billion in the form of development budget support.

Asked whether SADC believed the money would be used properly and not go astray like South Africa's recent R300-million agricultural aid package to Zimbabwe, Dlamini-Zuma said Zimbabwe had a plan on how "they want to use the money".

"We think it will be used properly for what it is intended for. There's a government there," she said.

Asked where the money would come from, Dlamini-Zuma said it would come from bilateral support, multi-lateral institutions, SADC members, and donor countries.

It was also necessary that Zimbabwe's standing with the International Monetary Fund be normalised as soon as possible.

"We are all, as SADC, determined to help Zimbabwe mobilise the resources.

"But, I can't guarantee how much will be raised (and) when... the economic environment globally is difficult, so we will do our best."

She could not say which specific countries would contribute.

"Donor countries are known world-wide, but which ones will agree to support Zimbabwe, we don't know.

"We haven't started, we just decided at this meeting that we will be talking to donor countries," Dlamini-Zuma said.