HARARE, October 20, 2026 — Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has called for greater collaboration among the 21 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa [ COMESA ] member states to deepen intra-regional trade and investment.
Mnangagwa, who is incoming Chair of the COMESA Authority, made the call on Tuesday while addressing the 19th COMESA Business Forum and Exhibition at the Harare International Conference Centre, where more than 400 exhibitors are showcasing products and exploring business opportunities.
“I challenge this forum to hold frank and bold dialogue that will help scale up intra-regional trade and investment, identify practical solutions and forge partnerships that allow businesses to produce, invest, trade and create jobs across our common market,” Mnangagwa said.
He urged delegates to identify practical steps to increase regional production, processing and trade, while calling for greater investment in agriculture, critical minerals, energy, industrialisation and human capital to harness the region’s youthful population.
Mnangagwa said COMESA, as a building block of the African Continental Free Trade Area [AfCFTA], must strengthen its productive capacity, remove tariffs and non-tariff barriers and harmonise trade procedures to unlock the full potential of the regional market.
The President also toured exhibition stands at the forum, which has brought together women, men and young entrepreneurs from micro, small and medium-sized enterprises [MSMEs] as well as large corporations.
COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe said the region was making progress towards creating an integrated market, noting that manufacturers were increasingly sourcing inputs from other member states under the COMESA Free Trade Area.
“Goods are crossing our borders faster through one-stop border posts and electronic certificates of origin. Small-scale traders are trading formally under the Simplified Trade Regime, and enterprises of every size are reaching customers across the region. This is one market in practice,” Kapwepwe said.
She said COMESA had been building the regional market for more than three decades and now comprises 21 member states, a population of more than 680 million people and an economy valued at approximately US$1 trillion.
Intra-regional trade currently stands at about US$ 14 billion, she said.
The COMESA Free Trade Area has removed tariffs on qualifying goods, while the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area, which entered into force in July 2024, has further expanded the market available to businesses in the three regional blocs.
Mucai Kunyiha, President of the COMESA Business Council [CBC] Board, said the council was established to provide an institutional platform for the private sector to contribute to regional integration.
He said the Business Forum had become an important platform for public-private dialogue, business-to-business engagement, investment linkages and regional partnerships.
“We are also strengthening our focus on business mobility. As businesses expand across borders, entrepreneurs and business professionals must be able to move efficiently within the region,” Kunyiha said.
He said the CBC had begun work on a COMESA Business Visa Scheme, arguing that an integrated regional market required the movement of people alongside goods and capital.
Held under the theme “One Market, One Future: Advancing Inclusive Industrialisation, Investment and Regional Integration in COMESA,” the forum has brought together business leaders, chambers of commerce, investors, development finance institutions and policymakers from across the region.
The CBC communiqué from the forum is expected to be presented to the 25th COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit, scheduled for tomorrow in Harare.
https://thecooperator.news/bous-atingi-ego-calls-for-stronger-comesa-cooperation-amid-global-shocks/
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