COMESA in partnership with the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) with support from the EU under the 11th EDF Regional Enterprise Competitiveness and Access to Markets Programme (RECAMP), convened a high-level consultative meeting with Member States to consider the revised Investment Agreement for the COMESA Common Investment Area (CCIA), marking a significant milestone in the region’s efforts to boost intra-regional and foreign direct investment.
The two-day workshop, held on 6-7 May 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya, brought together senior officials responsible for investment and investment promotion from COMESA Member States, investment policy experts, regional stakeholders, and development partners. The purpose of the meeting was to finalize the revised CCIA Agreement—a legal framework designed to promote, protect, and facilitate investment across the region. The workshop also consulted and gathered inputs from Member States on a proposed handbook to expedite the domestication and implementation of the revised CCIA.
The CCIA Agreement, developed in 2007 has faced challenges in securing ratification due to factors such as limited awareness and need for better alignment with national investment frameworks. In light of these challenges, COMESA initiated a comprehensive review process to update the Agreement, ensuring that its provisions reflect international best practices and are responsive to new developments and evolving priorities in the region and the continent.
The revised CCIA Agreement seeks to establish a more liberal, transparent, and predictable investment environment across the COMESA region, and offers clarity on investor and state obligations, dispute settlement mechanisms, and improved provisions for the movement of capital, goods, services, and labour for the sake of investment. These improvements are expected to significantly boost investor confidence and enhance the region’s attractiveness as a destination for sustainable investment.
In his address, COMESA Assistant Secretary General for Programmes, Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Kadah, highlighted the urgency of enhancing investment frameworks amid low and declining Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to Africa. Citing the 2024 UNCTAD World Investment Report, Dr. Kadah noted that Africa’s meagre 4-5% share of global FDI flows dropped further down from USD 54 billion in 2022 to USD 53 billion in 2023. Within COMESA, inflows fell from USD 23.4 billion to USD 18.7 billion over the same period.
He attributed this downturn to factors such as global economic uncertainty, political instability, and burdensome regulatory environments.
“The revised CCIA Agreement is a timely and strategic response to these challenges. It will help Member States address structural bottlenecks and provide a harmonized platform to attract sustainable investment into priority sectors,” Amb. Dr. Kadah highlighted.
The workshop was officially opened by Kenya’s Principal Secretary for the State Department of Investment Promotion, Mr. Abubakar Hassan Abubakar who called on the bloc to work in unity toward the region’s economic transformation.
“We must move beyond competition and embrace collaboration. The revised CCIA Agreement provides us with a unique opportunity to build a harmonized investment climate that benefits all our countries and citizens,” he stated.
In conclusion, Mr. Abubakar reiterated Kenya’s support to ensure the success of the Agreement and offered to host the forthcoming COMESA Investment Forum scheduled for 2026.
The validation of the revised Agreement benefited from technical inputs provided by UNCTAD and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Their support ensured the revised CCIA is aligned with international investment principles and reflects the priorities of African economies.
Representatives from Burundi, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe actively participated in the workshop.
The revised CCIA will go through final validation before submission to COMESA policy organs for adoption then to Member States for ratification and domestication.