Lusaka, Thursday, February 14, 2019: The Cross-Border Traders Association of Zambia today hosted its 20th Conference under the theme; “Building Cross Border Traders Association Membership, entrenching good Governance and Partnership for trade support.”

The conference took place at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka. It was addressed by COMESA Secretary General Ms Chileshe Kapwepwe, who is the patron of the association, and the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry of Zambia Mrs. Kayula Siame.

In her statement presented by the Director of Agriculture and Industry, Mr Thierry Kalonji, the Secretary General promised to provide capacity building for the association to support enterprise and banking solution and inclusion and sensitization on the role of good governance.

“This conference is a step in the right direction to instill trust and confidence to the key stakeholders in managing public and project resources entrusted to the association,” the SG said.

In her remarks, presented by the Director of Foreign Trade, Ms. Lillian Bwalya, the PS acknowledged the close collaboration between, her government, COMESA and CBTA as a key mechanism for the implementation of the Simplified Trade Regime. This has been actualized through the establishment of trade information Desks at border point to facilitate cross border trade.

“We expect in the near future to have more Trade Information Desks set up through the COMESA Cross Border Trade Initiative funded by the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund”, she said. “This will contribute to increased intra-regional trade among COMESA Member States,”.
At the conference, the CBTA launched the Cross-Border Trader Magazine which will be used as an information sharing and advocacy tool.