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European Union, COMESA seal EUR7.6m deal

BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes

@SunZambian

THE European Union and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) have signed a EUR 7.6 million Financing Agreement for the market body Institutional Capacity Building Programme.

Secretary-General Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe co-signed the Agreement with the Ambassador of the European Union to Zambia, who is also the Special Representative to COMESA, Jacek Jankowski.

The objective of the programme is to deepen regional integration in the COMESA region, and to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of the COMESA Secretariat in the implementation of regional cooperation projects and engagement with its Member States.

The programme will support COMESA in the domestication and implementation of regional commitments at Member State level.

In her statement, Ms Kapwepwe described the programme as key and that it would provide the necessary backing to achieve the set goals for the good of the Member States who remain the target beneficiaries.

“This is an important and timely programme for us as a region, and it will help us strategize our priorities clearly and create public awareness with a view to mobilize resources where the gaps are,” she said.

Ambassador Jankowski stated that the programme provided an opportunity for the COMESA Secretariat and its Member States to enhance their capacities, achieve the key milestones set under COMESA’s Medium-Term Strategic Plan and to effectively implement regional commitments at national level.

Mr Jankowski emphasised that COMESA’s contribution was even more critical during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had negatively affected trans-border trade and market access among Member States in the region.

The programme will further facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue on regional economic integration, in the tripartite framework of COMESA, the East African Community (EAC) and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).

In addition, the COMESA Institutional Capacity Building Programme will increase the coordination, management (operational and financial), implementation and procurement capacity of the Secretariat and enhance the production and dissemination of harmonised and gender responsive regional statistics.

The programme will also address organisational challenges and constraints, aiming at more effectiveness and efficiency of the Secretariat’s operations.

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