Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has officially handed over the title deed for 14 hectares of land in Lusaka, paving the way for the construction of the permanent headquarters of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
COMESA is a major regional economic community on the African continent comprising 21 member states, stretching from Tunisia in the North to Eswatini in the south.
Established in 1981 as the Preferential Trade Area, the organisation was created to promote regional integration through trade, investment and the development of natural and human resources for the mutual benefit of the region’s people.
The handover of the title deed for the 14 hectares of land in Lusaka took place during the COMESA’s 25th Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Harare.
Meanwhile the bloc’s outgoing Chairperson, Kenyan President William Ruto, called on African countries to place greater confidence in their own institutions and deepen trade among themselves.
The Zambian leader further called for the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to boost intra-regional trade within the block.
–SABC–
