Research Theme

COMESA has been holding Annual Research Forums since 2014. The Forum brings together various stakeholders, including policy makers, academia, think tanks and private sector to deliberate on topical issues in regional integration. The Forum is also a capacity building avenue in economic and trade policy research for young researchers. Successful research papers are published in COMESA flagship publication “Key Issues in Regional Integration.”

COMESA therefore calls for papers under the theme; “Fostering Economic Integration and Inclusivity in COMESA through Value Addition, Green Investments and Tourism” with the following sub-themes.
Sub-themes:
(i) Opportunities and challenges for investment in green projects in COMESA;
(ii) Creating an enabling environment for investment in green technologies in COMESA;
(iii) Role of public development banks and export credit agencies in mobilising and scaling climate finance; (iv) Investment, value addition and value chain transformation in COMESA; (v) Drivers of regional value chain development and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) integration in COMESA;
(vi) Opportunities and challenges of travel and tourism growth in COMESA; and
(vii) Women and youth inclusivity for sustainable development and regional economic integration.

Objective of the call for papers
The objective of this call is to seek empirical and/or policy-oriented research papers to address issues pertinent to regional integration agenda in the context of the research theme. COMESA invites researchers to submit extended abstracts under the different sub-themes. The abstracts and papers will be peer reviewed and successful authors shall be invited to make presentation at the 11th COMESA Annual Research Forum scheduled for September 2024.