Tripartite FTA declaration signed

effectively starting negotiations for the establishment of a Tripartite FTA stretching from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt.
The Second Tripartite Summit brought together the leaders and representatives of 26 African countries who convened at the Sandton Convention Centre.
An FTA is a trading zone whose member countries have signed a free trade accord that eliminates tariffs, import quotas, and preferences on goods and services traded between them.
The launch of an FTA marks the second stage on the path to full economic integration and countries choose the FTA route if their economies are complementary but if they are competitive they go for a customs union.
The Tripartite FTA is expected to pave way for the launch of an African Economic Community envisioned in the Lagos Plan of Action of 1980, the Abuja Treaty of 1991 as well as the resolution of the African Union Summit held in Banjul, The Gambia in 2006 that directed the AU to harmonise and coordinate policies and programmes of RECs as important strategies of coordination among the RECs.
The EAC launched an FTA in 2005, Sadc in 2008 with Comesa following in 2009 laying the groundwork for the envisioned Tripartite FTA.
Running under the theme, ‘‘Deepening Comesa-EAC-Sadc Integration,” the one-day summit ended Sunday afternoon.
Summit adopted the Roadmap for Establishing the Tripartite FTA; and the Tripartite FTA Negotiating Principles, Processes and Institutional Framework.
The leaders also directed that a programme of work and the roadmap be developed on the industrialisation pillar.
In the communiqué, Summit adopted a developmental approach to the Tripartite Integration process anchored on three pillars namely: Market integration based on the FTA; Infrastructure Development to enhance connectivity and reduce the costs of doing business as well as Industrial Development to address productive capacity constraints.
Host President Jacob Zuma, Comesa chairman King Mswati III, Sadc chairman President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia, Comesa chairman and EAC chairman President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi addressed the summit along with Comesa secretary-general Sindiso Ngwenya and AU Commission deputy chairman Erastus Mwencha.
President Mugabe joined 12 other heads of state and/or government for the Tripartite Summit while the other 13 countries were represented by plenipotentiaries.
Once established, the Tripartite FTA will constitute half of the AU in terms of membership, 57 percent of the total population and just over 58 percent in terms of GDP contribution.