Zvamaida Murwira
Senior Reporter
MORE than seven Heads of State and Government have confirmed their attendance for the upcoming 25th COMESA Summit in Harare, with official figures expected to rise as preparations gather pace.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira said hosting the high-level regional gathering underscores the country’s commitment to Pan-Africanism and continental economic cohesion.
“A good number of Heads of State and Government have confirmed attending, but the number keeps changing as more continue to do so. We will have a clear figure this week,” Prof Murwira said.
“You know, Zimbabwe is Pan-African by values and it is Pan-African by constitution. We pursue an African integration agenda, so the coming of the Heads of State and Government is actually a fulfilment of this movement of integration into Africa.”
He said the summit aligns with President Mnangagwa’s foreign policy objective to reintegrate Zimbabwe into the global economy through strong regional partnerships.
“We integrate into the globe through Africa,” Prof Murwira noted.
“So, the coming of the Heads of State and Government to Zimbabwe is a very important move towards enhancing the Pan-African position of Zimbabwe on the continent. And His Excellency, the President, will welcome them with open arms . . .
“It is important to know that the President does not have a colleague in Zimbabwe. His colleagues are in neighbouring nations — in Zambia, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya. So, it is always a pleasure for His Excellency to welcome his colleagues. And our job is to support His Excellency so that his objectives are fulfilled.”
One of the primary objectives Zimbabwe will pursue once it assumes the chairmanship of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Professor Murwira added, is the removal of trade barriers and enhancement of trade between and among countries.
“The whole idea of COMESA is to increase trade among ourselves as African countries,” he said.
“We need to remove trade barriers and create trade infrastructure. There is both physical infrastructure and non-physical infrastructure. The physical infrastructure is the construction of roads, rehabilitation of airports, seaports, among others, while non-physical infrastructure is the removal of trade barriers like tariffs. Some of the tariffs destroy business, yet we say we are open for business. Business means all obstacles of doing business are removed.”
Tariffs, he added, had an adverse effect on regional economic growth and integration.
“With tariffs, you could be limiting yourselves to 17 million people, if it is Zimbabwe. But, if the African market is open, it means it is 1,4 billion people. So, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa is all about market integration, all about innovation; it’s all about production.”
President Mnangagwa will assume the chairmanship of the COMESA trading bloc when Zimbabwe hosts the 25th COMESA Summit in Harare on October 22. The summit will be preceded by the 19th COMESA Business Forum, which will be co-convened by the COMESA Business Council, ZimTrade and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with COMESA and the Government of Zimbabwe, and run between October 19 and 21.
The summit will be held under the theme “One Market, One Future: Advancing Inclusive Industrialisation, Investment and Regional Integration in COMESA”.
COMESA is a regional economic bloc comprising 21 member states with a combined population of over 640 million people and a total gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately US$1,2 trillion.
As a Free Trade Area, member nations actively work to eliminate tariffs and quotas to facilitate frictionless cross-border trade.
Source: Seven leaders already confirmed for Comesa Summit – herald
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