Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Fides Service)- Today 22 May a summit of 12 heads of state of COMESA Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa countries opens in Nairobi, Kenya. The summit, the main instance of this commercial association, will give the final go ahead for the constitution of a Customs Union. According to a calendar proposed by the COMESA premiers, the Customs Union should begin to function by December 8 of next year.
The summit will also discuss laws and questions of logistics associated with the Customs Union which must be implemented by a set date. Customs Union resolutions have already been implemented by seven countries. The heads of state will discuss problems connected with non tariff barriers” which prevent the creation of a free trade zone. These barriers, from restrictions on exports to administrative and bureaucratic procedure at border and customs offices, are seen as the main obstacles to greater economic integration among COMESA countries.
Thanks to existing partial trade openings in the COMESA free trade zone member countries have registered a 5.8% GNP increase.
The summit will also discuss the tragic situation in the Horn of Africa, especially Somalia.
COMESA members are the following: Angola, Burundi, Comoro Islands, Democratic Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Treaty establishing COMESA was signed on 5 November 1993 in Kampala, Uganda and was ratified a year later in Lilongwe, Malawi on 8th December 1994. COMESA replaced the former Preferential Trade Area (PTA) which had existed from the earlier days of 1981. COMESA was established 'as an organisation of free independent sovereign states which have agreed to co-operate in developing their natural and human resources for the good of all their people.' Its main focus is on the formation of a large economic and trading unit that is capable of overcoming some of the barriers that are faced by individual states. By the year 2000, all internal trade tariffs and barriers will be removed. Within 4 years after that COMESA will have introduced a common external tariff structure to deal with all third party trade and will have considerably simplified all procedures. It has a wide-ranging series of other objectives which necessarily include in its priorities the promotion of peace and security in the region. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 22/5/2007 righe 35 parole 409)
