02 April 2026, Lusaka, Zambia: The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), in partnership with the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), convened a regional workshop with Seventeen Member States to validate the revised COMESA Common Investment Area (CCIA) Agreement, marking a significant milestone towards enhancing intra-regional investment and attracting foreign direct investment to the COMESA region, fostering economic growth and development.
The two-day virtual workshop, held on 31 March and 1 April 2026, brought together senior officials and experts from COMESA Member States. The purpose of the workshop was to finalize the revised CCIA Agreement, a key framework designed to promote, protect, and facilitate investment across the COMESA region. Participants also reviewed the CCIA Implementation Handbook, a tool to support Member States in implementing the revised Agreement, developed in partnership with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
The revised CCIA Agreement establishes a robust framework for investment in the COMESA region, providing clarity on investor and state obligations, dispute settlement mechanisms, and provisions for the movement of capital and labour. This enhanced framework is expected to boost investor confidence, promote transparency, and position the region as a premier destination for sustainable investment.
- E. Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Kadah, Assistant Secretary General for Programmes at the COMESA Secretariat, officially opened the workshop, expressing gratitude to UNCTAD and IISD for their technical support in developing the CCIA Agreement and Implementation Handbook. “This Agreement is a true reflection of the region’s vision for sustainable socio-economic development, regional integration, and prosperity, and under COMESA’s commitment for fostering an investment-friendly environment,”.
Ambassador Kadah also emphasized the importance of related development partnerships as well as speedy finalization, adoption, and operationalization of the Agreement.
The validated revised CCIA Agreement is a result of a thorough consultative process, including two validation workshops, demonstrating COMESA’s commitment to creating a modern, unified investment framework. This process reflects Member States’ shared commitment to accelerating investment-driven development through harmonized legal instruments.
The revised CCIA Agreement and the CCIA Implementation Handbook will now be submitted to COMESA policy organs for endorsement, followed by ratification and domestication by Member States, paving the way for its implementation.