Gamea has announced arrangements for Egypt’s hosting of 21st COMESA Heads of
State and Government Summit in New Administrative Capital.
Cairo- Nov 21, 2021
At a joint press conference with Secretary General of the Common
Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Chileshe Kapwepwe, Minister of
Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea has announced that Egypt’s New Administrative Capital
will host the 21st COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit next Tuesday,
Nov 23, with in-person and virtual participation of member countries and heads
of African economic blocs.
Held under the theme: “Building Resilience Through Strategic
Digital Economic Integration,” the summit aims to rally the 21 member states on
how to safeguard and advance the COMESA regional integration agenda using
digital platforms to facilitate doing business and enhance their resilience to
face the economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the forthcoming Summit, the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah
El-Sisi, will take over the chair of the COMESA from the outgoing chair, the
President of Madagascar. He will also launch the COMESA Medium-Term Strategic
Plan (MTSP) 2021- 2025.
The 21st summit will also review a number of key reports
on economic integration priority issues and the status of the Covid-19 pandemic
in the region, the 42nd Meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Nov 9, the 17th Meeting of the COMESA Ministers of Foreign
Affairs held on Nov 16, the implementation status of regional integration
programs in the region, as well as reports on the current COMESA round and the
COMESA Business Council.
It will also witness the swearing-in ceremony of the COMESA Court
of Justice Appellate Division judges and the newly-appointed
Commissioners of the COMESA Competition Commission and the COMESA Committee of
Elders, in addition to announcement of the winners of the Media and Innovation
Awards.
“The Egyptian government is looking forward to making the most of
Egypt's second presidency of COMESA, 20 years later since the last time it
assumed the chair of the Authority in 2001, in further deepening cooperation among
member states in many fields,” Gamea noted.
She pointed out that Egypt’s chairing of COMESA will support its determined
efforts, with other African countries, to achieve economic integration on the
continent and overcome obstacles that may hinder free trade between COMESA
members. It will also strengthen cooperation among investment agents in Africa
and open communication channels between the governments of member countries and
the private sector to facilitate the movement of investments within the
continent.
The ministry, she added, represented by the Egyptian Commercial Service
(ECS), is responsible for organizing this important summit in cooperation with
a number of ministries and relevant authorities, as well as the COMESA
secretariat in Lusaka. It had also
participated in the 42nd Council of Ministers Meeting, within
preparations for the summit.
“Egypt is one of the key economic forces in COMESA, having the
largest share of intra-COMESA trade in 2020, with a total of $2.9 billion. COMESA
is also a promising market for Egyptian exports, which accounted for 20% of
exports within the bloc, worth $2 billion; while imports from COMESA amounted
to $700 million” the minister said.
Top Egyptian exports to COMESA include: plastics, salt, sulfur,
lime, cement, ceramics, machinery and electrical appliances, mill products,
paper, sugar, soap, essential oils, and perfume.
The ministry, Gamea noted, has developed a comprehensive vision for
Egypt's presidency of the COMESA, aiming at deepening economic integration
between Egypt and member countries, so as to enhance the Egyptian presence in
Africa in general and COMESA in particular.
Egypt’s one-year presidency of COMESA will focus on creating a
business-friendly environment for the Egyptian business community to support
its economic integration with COMESA countries; linking the business community within
the COMESA region to support economic integration and increase the movement of intra-regional
trade and investments; opening up opportunities for cooperation in priority
sectors; in addition to sharing Egypt’s know-how in economic sectors with
competitive advantage such as transportation, energy, communications and health
with member states.
The ministry has also discussed a number of proposals with the authorities
concerned to be implemented during Egypt's presidency of COMESA. These include: in the field of industry, promoting the
ministry’s initiative to deepen industrial integration by defining the available
resources in member states and linking regional value chains; and in the field
of trade and customs, urging non-members to join the free trade zone and enjoy customs
exemption on their imports of COMESA origin, as well as establishing a trade policy
review mechanism.
Among other proposals are sharing Egypt’s expertise with member
states in the field of SMEs and trade in services; as for infrastructure, cooperating
with the COMESA secretariat and members in finding financing sources for
transport corridors and hubs, especially for the Lake Victoria-Mediterranean
Sea linking project; and in agriculture, encouraging agricultural integration
initiatives among the COMESA countries and including the private sector in the
implementation of agricultural development projects.
In the health sector, it is proposed to establish a committee of
COMESA health ministers with the aim of formulating an urgent plan to address
the challenges posed by the pandemic in member countries; and in and the fields
of tourism and culture, to enhance the role of the COMESA Committee on Tourism
and Wildlife.
Kapwepwe, for her part, explained that the summit comes at a very critical
time, especially in light of the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic
on most of member states, whose economic performances have declined with the
slowdown of the global economy.
These challenges, she added, are a
motivation for COMESA countries to continue working to deepen economic
integration and create a conducive climate for the business community and the
private sector, intensifying efforts to boost joint investments in various
infrastructure sectors, and most notably in telecommunications, transportation and
energy.
The SG said that the COMESA is one of the
regional economic integration groups, which aims to achieve economic
integration among the countries of the North, East and Southern Africa, through
the establishment of a free trade area, followed by a customs union, and
finally a common market among its member states.
Kapwepwe pointed out that COMESA average
economic growth rate hit 5.6% in 2019, but fell significantly during 2020 due
to the fallout of the pandemic on most member countries, noting that the
International Monetary Fund forecasts a rebound in the COMESA economic growth to
4.3% this year and 6% in 2022, thanks to a worldwide economic recovery driven
by vaccination efforts against the Covid-19 virus and a pickup in global
demand.
She further added that within the COMESA’s
appreciation of the role played by the media, heads of state will announce
media professionals winners of the COMESA Media Awards, for their excellent
reporting on regional integration initiatives and efforts to raise the public’s
awareness.
Eight media professionals have won the
COMESA media awards over the past three years, including two from Egypt. Innovators
who, with the help of science and technology, have come up with solutions to contemporary
challenges and new products that could deepen regional integration will also be
honored.