The Secretary-General of COMESA, Mr Sindiso Ngwenya, has reaffirmed COMESA’s commitment to supporting the Government of Eritrea in the agricultural sector, through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
Mr Ngwenya said this when he met a delegation of three officials from the Ministry of Agriculture in Eritrea who paid a courtesy call on him on Tuesday, 19 June 2012. The delegation which is also part of the Eritrean CAADP Country Team is on a one week peer learning mission to Zambia facilitated by the COMESA CAADP Unit. The team will meet Zambian stakeholders in the CAADP implementation agenda in order to share experiences.
“As Eritrea prepares to sign the CAADP Compact, the country should already start thinking about the content of the investment plan that will be developed after the compact is launched,” Mr Ngwenya said.
He advised the Ministry of Agriculture in Eritrea to integrate fisheries in agriculture in order to make the sector holistic.
The Team Leader of the delegation, Mr Solomon Haile Weldeslasie, expressed gratitude to COMESA for supporting Eritrea in the process leading to the signing the CAADP Compact.
“Eritrea, with support from the COMESA CAADP Unit has developed a roadmap that will guide the country in the processes leading to signing the compact,” he said.
COMESA Deputy Coordinator for CAADP, Dr Nalishebo Meebelo said there is increased commitment from the Eritrean Government and it is very likely that the National CAADP Compact will be signed by January 2013.
Read more on the meeting on www.comesa.int