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Business Reporter

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the United States Agency for International Development have signed a $77 million agreement aimed at strengthening regional development.Through this agreement, USAID will contribute $77 million to strengthen the collaborative partnership between the two organisations and implement regional trade, investment, and agriculture development programs that contribute to their common goals.The agreement was launched at 36th Inter-Governmental Committee taking place in Madagascar.

United States Ambassador to Zambia and Special Representative to Comesa Eric Schultz, USAID Deputy Mission Director for Kenya and East Africa Candace Buzzard, and the Comesa Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya signed a memorandum of understanding to affirm the agreement.

“Through economic diversification, attracting more foreign investment, and reducing existing trade barriers, we can build upon our successes to date. I am confident that the new Agreement will help us bolster growth and unlock economic potential among the Comesa member states,” said Ambassador Shultz in his remarks.

Ambassador Schultz pointed to the continued momentum toward achieving common economic development goals by renewing the partnership.

Under this agreement, Comesa and USAID will work together to achieve shared development priorities to promote sustainable regional economic integration, reinforce institutional governance and accountability by supporting the coordination of regional trade, investment, and agricultural policies; and strengthen Comesa’s organisational leadership.

The new agreement is not the first for USAID and Comesa, a regional economic community under the African Union with 19 member states.

They have partnered since 2003 to create sustainable and integrated markets, increase the productivity of staple crops and farm productivity, promote trade and reduce trade barriers in regional markets, and support the free movement of goods and services in the region.

Under a previous agreement, USAID provided $115 million to support the organisation in delivering its mandate.Top decision making organs of Comesa started meetings yesterday in Antananarivo, Madagascar ahead of the 19th Heads of State Summit on October 18–19, 2016.

Top on the agenda will be discussions on how to address challenges that Member States face in domesticating decisions taken by the Council of Ministers on the implementation of Comesa regional integration programmes at the national and regional levels.

Hosted under the theme “Inclusive and sustainable industrialisation,” the debate will also address the productive constraints that inhibit inclusive and sustainable transformation of the region; from low productivity economies that rely on export of unprocessed primary commodities with either little or no value addition, to high competitive economies that produce and export value added products.

Between 800-1 000 delegates comprising policy makers in Governments, leaders of the regional business community, development partners, regional economic communities and strategic continental institutions will attend.