Business / International
Comesa's Tripatite Free Trade Area agreement signed
13 Jun 2011 at 05:38hrs | Views
THE Second Tripartite Comesa-EAC-Sadc Summit that brought together the leaders and representatives of 26 African countries opened at the Sandton Convention Centre here yesterday morning with the signing of the Tripartite Free Trade Area agreement.
An FTA is a trading zone whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement, which eliminates tariffs, import quotas and preferences on goods and services traded between them.
It is considered the second stage of economic integration. Countries choose the FTA route if their economic structures are complementary but if they are competitive they take the route of a customs union.
President Mugabe and the other leaders were seized with negotiating the terms of the envisaged Tripartite FTA expected to pave way for the launch of an African Economic Community in the near future.
The EAC launched an FTA in 2005, Sadc in 2008 with Comesa following in 2009 laying the groundwork for a Tripartite FTA.
Running under the theme, "Deepening Comesa-EAC-Sadc Integration," the Summit witnessed the launch of the FTA negotiations and the signing of the constituting agreement.
In his welcome remarks, host President Jacob Zuma urged his counterparts to create an enabling environment for economic prosperity and growth.
"There is no single country that can prosper on its own, our destinies are intertwined . . . we can achieve greater competitive advantage through the Tripartite FTA arrangement."
The South African leader urged the three RECs to remove barriers to intra-African trade, improve the efficiency of transport infrastructure, documentation and the overall administrative procedures associated with international trade.
Comesa chairman King Mswati III of Swaziland hailed the launch of the FTA negotiations saying they dovetailed with the African Union initiative to promote free trade among all African countries.
"The present RECs have been operating in isolation, thus creating trading barriers within the African continent. Time has come for us to bring together all these organisations to form one big economic powerhouse to increase trade among African countries," he said
Sadc chairman, President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia, echoed President Zuma's sentiments urging all countries to put their shoulders to the wheel to make the FTA a reality.
"With a population of nearly 600 million people and a combined Gross Domestic Product of close to US$1 trillion, the realisation of this goal (economic integration) would reposition our respective regions to achieve higher levels of economic growth," he said.
Such integration, he said, would be a much needed building block to the dream of establishing a United States of Africa.
East African Community chairman Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza, urged members of the three regional economic groups to establish a sound and viable economic bloc to pave way for the formation of an African Economic Union.
"In this perspective, we have a duty to adopt methods and principles governing the establishment of the tripartite Free Trade Area, the Roadmap negotiations, and the Statement on the launch of negotiations," he said
Comesa secretary general Sindiso Ngwenya and AU Commission deputy chairman Erastus Mwencha also addressed the opening session.
In the closed door session, Summit was expected to receive a progress report of the Tripartite Task Force on the status of the implementation of the decisions of the First Tripartite Summit held in Kampala, Uganda, in 2008.
The leaders were also expected to endorse a number of important documents that will inform the substance and pace of the Free Trade Area negotiations.
The documents include recommendations on the proposed Tripartite FTA negotiating principles, the processes and the institutional framework, the Tripartite Roadmap, and the Declaration launching negotiations on the Tripartite FTA among other issues.
Speaker after speaker took time to pass condolences to the host government and its people on the passing on of anti-Apartheid stalwart Cde Albertina Sisulu, wife of ANC legend Walter Sisulu who was buried in Soweto over the weekend.
An FTA is a trading zone whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement, which eliminates tariffs, import quotas and preferences on goods and services traded between them.
It is considered the second stage of economic integration. Countries choose the FTA route if their economic structures are complementary but if they are competitive they take the route of a customs union.
President Mugabe and the other leaders were seized with negotiating the terms of the envisaged Tripartite FTA expected to pave way for the launch of an African Economic Community in the near future.
The EAC launched an FTA in 2005, Sadc in 2008 with Comesa following in 2009 laying the groundwork for a Tripartite FTA.
Running under the theme, "Deepening Comesa-EAC-Sadc Integration," the Summit witnessed the launch of the FTA negotiations and the signing of the constituting agreement.
In his welcome remarks, host President Jacob Zuma urged his counterparts to create an enabling environment for economic prosperity and growth.
"There is no single country that can prosper on its own, our destinies are intertwined . . . we can achieve greater competitive advantage through the Tripartite FTA arrangement."
The South African leader urged the three RECs to remove barriers to intra-African trade, improve the efficiency of transport infrastructure, documentation and the overall administrative procedures associated with international trade.
Comesa chairman King Mswati III of Swaziland hailed the launch of the FTA negotiations saying they dovetailed with the African Union initiative to promote free trade among all African countries.
Sadc chairman, President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia, echoed President Zuma's sentiments urging all countries to put their shoulders to the wheel to make the FTA a reality.
"With a population of nearly 600 million people and a combined Gross Domestic Product of close to US$1 trillion, the realisation of this goal (economic integration) would reposition our respective regions to achieve higher levels of economic growth," he said.
Such integration, he said, would be a much needed building block to the dream of establishing a United States of Africa.
East African Community chairman Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza, urged members of the three regional economic groups to establish a sound and viable economic bloc to pave way for the formation of an African Economic Union.
"In this perspective, we have a duty to adopt methods and principles governing the establishment of the tripartite Free Trade Area, the Roadmap negotiations, and the Statement on the launch of negotiations," he said
Comesa secretary general Sindiso Ngwenya and AU Commission deputy chairman Erastus Mwencha also addressed the opening session.
In the closed door session, Summit was expected to receive a progress report of the Tripartite Task Force on the status of the implementation of the decisions of the First Tripartite Summit held in Kampala, Uganda, in 2008.
The leaders were also expected to endorse a number of important documents that will inform the substance and pace of the Free Trade Area negotiations.
The documents include recommendations on the proposed Tripartite FTA negotiating principles, the processes and the institutional framework, the Tripartite Roadmap, and the Declaration launching negotiations on the Tripartite FTA among other issues.
Speaker after speaker took time to pass condolences to the host government and its people on the passing on of anti-Apartheid stalwart Cde Albertina Sisulu, wife of ANC legend Walter Sisulu who was buried in Soweto over the weekend.
Source - Comesa
