A renewed push for deeper monetary and financial integration dominated discussions as COMESA’s Central Bank Governors met for their 29th Committee Meeting in Kampala on Friday 21 November 2025. They mapped out the region’s economic future and underscored COMESA’s core objective which is to accelerate economic growth and improve livelihoods through robust regional integration and…
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Global shocks are tightening the world’s supply chains and sparking volatile commodity prices, underscoring a fragile global economy. For COMESA, a resource-rich region dependent on exports, the impact is significant. Yet resilience emerges when intra-regional trade and coordinated monetary and financial systems are strengthened to transform volatility into strength. Despite a dip in overall trade,…
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Lusaka, Zambia – Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) met in Lusaka on 14 November for their 28th meeting, following the 30th meeting of the COMESA Committee on Legal Affairs. The high-level discussions focused on reviewing key legal frameworks essential to regional integration and economic…
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Noting the need to facilitate and enhance small-scale cross-border trade, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed an Interministerial Decree on 10 March 2025 to enable the implementation of the COMESA Simplified Trade Regime (STR) on its borders with neighbouring COMESA countries. The DRC shares borders with four COMESA countries Burundi, Rwanda,…
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Members of the Programme Steering Committee for the European Union funded Institutional Capacity Building Programme (ICBP) at COMESA Secretariat and EU Delegation in Zambia met in Lusaka to review progress in implementation of the Programme. Funded under the 11th European Development Fund, the initiative continues to be a cornerstone in COMESA’s efforts to strengthen institutional…
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Malawi is scheduled to hold general elections on 16 September 2025 to elect a President, Members to the National Assembly and representatives Ward Councils to serve for a five-year period. The 2025 elections come after the previous elections in 2019 that were initially nullified by the Supreme Court. The Court besides the nullification of elections…
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Fifty staff from Central Banks in twelve COMESA countries have been trained in understanding the complex interaction between monetary policy and fintech. The comprehensive training will enable staff to provide advice for effective policy responses to the challenges and opportunities presented by fintech in the COMESA region. Organised by the COMESA Monetary Institute, the virtual…
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COMESA has launched the World Bank-funded Inclusive Digitalization for East and Southern Africa (IDEA) Programme which aims to empower 180 million people with internet access and provide digitally enabled services to 100 million people over the next eight years. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Technology and Science of Zambia, Dr. Brilliant Habeenzu, launched the programme alongside, World…
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Preparations for the development of COMESA’s 2026–2030 Medium-Term Strategic Plan (MTSP) have commenced with a two-day retreat for management and technical staff in Lusaka, held on March 24–25, 2025. The retreat’s agenda focused on reviewing the performance of the current 2021–2025 MTSP, identifying successes, challenges, and key lessons to inform the next five-year plan. Leading…
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