March 29 (Reuters) - Leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) ended a two-day meeting in Tanzania on Thursday calling for new dialogue over the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Here are some key facts about SADC:

-- First formed as the Southern African Development Coordination Conference in 1980 with nine members to help newly independent Zimbabwe and nearby countries reduce their economic dependence on apartheid South Africa. Renamed the Southern African Development Community in 1992.

-- Headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.

-- Aims to promote development, economic growth, peace and security in Southern African region.

-- Total membership now 14 countries, numbering more than 200 million people.

-- South Africa is main political and economic power in the grouping. Other members are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

-- Often dismissed as a talk shop, SADC has nevertheless set specific goals for the region, including eventual monetary and customs union.

-- It approved military intervention in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho in 1998 to restore order following an army mutiny. South Africa and Botswana sent troops at the invitation of Lesotho's then-prime minister.

-- It also approved new security pact in 2003, which would permit SADC members to intervene unilaterally to stop internal conflict in a member state from destabilising the region.

Sources: Reuters/ SADC: