Debra Matabvu and Tawanda Musarurwa
MORE than 1 000 delegates are expected for the COMESA Summit that begins tomorrow in Harare with the highly subscribed Green Industry Connect event.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira told The Sunday Mail yesterday that preparations had hit top gear across all fronts.
“The first step is the Green Industry Connect, which is going to happen on Monday and is fully subscribed — over 100 percent subscribed. Then we have got the Business Forum, which is going to happen on Tuesday and is also oversubscribed, almost 130 percent plus. It will then be followed by the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The purpose of the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs is to prepare the agenda and draft decisions for Excellencies,” said Prof Murwira.
“Then on Thursday, the summit will happen. The business part of COMESA is going to take place at the Rainbow Towers — that’s our venue. The summit and the meeting of Foreign Ministers is going to happen at the new Parliament building.”
Minister Murwira said representatives from all the 21-member states that make up the regional bloc were expected.
“As for delegates coming from Monday up to Thursday, we expect more than 1 000 delegates to come for the COMESA Summit. Everything is going on very well.”
Business forum
The outcomes of the 19th COMESA Business Forum will be presented to regional leaders at the 25th COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit on Thursday.
President Mnangagwa will assume chairmanship of the bloc at the summit, putting Zimbabwe at the centre of efforts to advance regional integration and remove trade barriers.
COMESA Business Council chief executive officer Dr Teddy Soobramanien said the forum will provide business and policymakers a platform to engage on practical measures for addressing barriers to trade and investment.
“The forum will feature key activities, including the Green Industries Connect and the International Multisectoral Exhibition, which will bring together businesses, policymakers and other stakeholders to explore opportunities in sustainable production, circular economy practices, resource efficiency and responsible management of industrial waste,” he said.
“The 19th COMESA Business Forum will provide a platform for businesses and policymakers to engage on practical measures for strengthening the regional market and addressing barriers to trade and investment. These deliberations will be presented to the COMESA Heads of State during the 25th COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit.”
The forum’s official opening ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday.
This year’s COMESA Summit will run under the theme “One Market, One Future: Advancing Inclusive Industrialisation, Investment and Regional Integration in COMESA”.
The regional bloc, which has a combined population of about 640 million people and combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$1,23 trillion, offers Zimbabwe major economic, strategic and industrial advantages as it takes the chairmanship for the 2026-2027 term.
As chair, Zimbabwe will prioritise tariff reduction and the elimination of non-tariff barriers at the top of its agenda.
In an earlier interview with The Sunday Mail, Dr Soobramanien said: “For Zimbabwe, border efficiency and digital trade facilitation are particularly important. Zimbabwe already has important foundations; for example, the Chirundu One-Stop Border Post (Zambia-Zimbabwe), and Zimbabwe is implementing the COMESA Electronic Certificate of Origin and Electronic Single Window. The priority should be to build on these systems so that customs, standards agencies, port health and other border institutions increasingly exchange information electronically, use coordinated risk management and minimise unnecessary duplication.”
Under the COMESA Free Trade Area (FTA), qualifying Zimbabwean goods can be exported to member states free of customs duties, making local products highly competitive.
Harare is actively implementing the COMESA Electronic Certificate of Origin and digitalised customs networks, which will cut paperwork and speed up border clearances.
The rollout of the Tripartite Simplified Trade Regime under COMESA makes it substantially cheaper and easier for small to medium enterprises and informal cross-border traders to conduct regional trade.
