CAIRO – Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib said Egypt is keen on coordinating with COMESA member states to deepen regional economic integration and enhance intra-trade between COMESA member states.
This came during his chairing an Egyptian delegation participating in the 23rd summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
Khatib said COMESA contributes to enhancing economic growth to overcome the economic challenges facing member states, stressing the importance of member states continuing to implement customs exemptions stipulated within the framework of the COMESA Free Trade Area.
COMESA is working to remove customs and non-customs restrictions that affect the development of regional intra-trade, which contributes to achieving the optimal utilization of the resources available to member states.
COMESA meeting was held in Bujumbura, Burundi, under the slogan “Accelerating regional integration through developing regional value chains in climate resilient agriculture, mining and tourism.”
The summit was held with the participation of the heads of state of Burundi, Zambia, Kenya, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and a number of prime ministers of COMESA countries and governments.
The summit considered the recommendations submitted by the 44th COMESA Ministerial Council on the most important issues affecting economic integration among member states and financial and administrative affairs related to the work of the COMESA General Secretariat.
It received the report of the COMESA Foreign Ministers on the state of security and peace in the region, in addition to discussing the state of regional economic integration.
The summit also witnessed the handover of the presidency of the group from the Zambian President to his Burundian counterpart, and the announcement of the new COMESA Bureau, which will consist of Burundi as President, Kenya as Vice President, and Zambia as Rapporteur.
