CAIRO – Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Chileshe Kapwepwe said that the value of total Intra-COMESA exports rose from US$1.5 billion in 2000 to US$10.9 billion in 2019.
In her remarks to the 21st Summit of the COMESA, which kicked off Tuesday in the New Administrative Capital under the chairmanship of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Kapwepwe gave an overview of the bloc’s achievements over the past period, topped by increasing its membership to 16 members after the Republic of Tunisia joined the group in 2020.
Kapwepwe highlighted the bloc’s efforts to promote e-commerce, including the issuance of COMESA Certificates of Origin and the launch of electronic reporting systems to remove non-tariff barriers and facilitate cross-border business operations.
She also cited the launch of an online information exchange platform to regroup vendors and buyers of COVID-19 related essential goods that are operating in the COMESA Region.
Kapwepwe also touched upon the group’s efforts to support the agricultural, energy and industrial sectors, elevate infrastructure, promote gender equality, and empower women and young people in member states.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is the largest regional economic organization in Africa, with 19 member states and a population of about 390 million. The group launched a customs union in 2009.
Themed “Building Resilience through Strategic Digital Economic Integration”, the 2021 Summit comes three years since the last was hosted by Zambia in 2018.
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