The COMESA Protocols on free movement have over the years faced slow pace of implementation, with many decisions of the Council of the Ministers calling on Member States to speed up ratification. The protocols are on the Gradual Relaxation and Eventual Elimination of Visa Requirements (commonly known as the visa protocol) and on the Free…
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COMESA Secretariat working with the African Union Political Affairs, Peace and Security Department (COMESA-AU) has developed a framework for sharing early warning tools on conflict prevention and management with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from Southern Africa. The framework will enable the parties to analyse data and information for conflict prevention, peace building and conflict management…
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Lusaka, Tuesday, May 10, 2022: Over 40 Energy Experts from COMESA Members States are attending a capacity building workshop on Off- Grid renewable energy conducted by the Regional Infrastructure Finance Facility (RIFF), a World Bank financed project implemented jointly by COMESA and the Trade and Development Bank (TDB). The workshop, which is taking place in…
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Trade experts from COMESA Member States are meeting this week to continue with the negotiations on the draft schedules of specific commitments under Trade in Services sector. This is the 11th Committee Meeting on Trade in Services, the apex forum of the Member States in the subsector. Since 2009, following the adoption of the COMESA…
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Small scale cross border trade is set to thrive along the Djibouti- Ethiopia borders following the first joint border trade committee meeting on 27 – 30 April 2022. The meeting was driven by the need to identify and resolve challenges facing the implementation of the Djibouti – Ethiopia Border Trade Protocol signed in 2015. The…
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The project on Enhancement of Sustainable Regional Energy market for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESREM) has conducted a series of events in the region and beyond to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, foster independent energy regulation and study tour on interconnected power system operations. The latest was a workshop on the framework for regulatory…
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Lusaka, Friday, May 06, 2022: Seychelles has appointed a Permanent Representative to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). His Excellency Claude Morel, High Commissioner of Seychelles to South Africa presented his letter of Credence to Secretary General, Chileshe Kapwepwe at the COMESA headquarters in Lusaka, Friday, 6 May 2022. During the event, Ms…
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Lusaka, Tuesday, May 3, 2022: The overall import and export values of informal trade volumes in Zambia has significantly increased from USD 13.3 Million in 2019 to USD 77.2 Million in 2021. Similarly, the informal trade export value has risen from USD81.02 million in 2019 to USD 206.08 million during the same period. This is…
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Implementing digital trade facilitation reforms have positive impacts on intra-COMESA exports. It is estimated that an increase of 10 percent in the adoption of digital trade technologies would result in a 5.5 percent increase in intra-COMESA exports. The regional organization is therefore scaling-up the Free Trade Area (FTA) to a Digital Free Trade Area (DFTA),…
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COMESA has developed a draft strategy to harness the benefits of the Blue Economy for its 21 Member States. The draft strategy was presented to delegates from the Members States on 26-27 April 2022 in Lusaka, Zambia, where it was reviewed and validated. The concept of the Blue Economy has been embraced by the COMESA…
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