THE COMMON MARKET FOR
EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA
COMESA and its Programme on
Science, Technology and Innovation
Tasara Muzorori
Senior Trade Officer, COMESA
www.comesa.int
April 2012
1
COMESA Membership
• The 19 Member States of COMESA are:
Burundi
Comoros
Congo, DR
Djibouti
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Kenya
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Rwanda
Seychelles
Sudan
Swaziland
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
2
COMESA Vision

To attain a fully integrated internationally
competitive regional economic community;


a community within which there is
economic prosperity with high standards
of living of its people, with political and
social stability and peace,
a community within which goods,
services, capital and labour freely move
across borders.
3
COMESA Objectives
To attain sustainable growth and development of
the Member States by promoting a more balanced
and harmonious development;
 Promote joint development in all fields of economic
activity in order to raise the standards of living of
the people;
 To cooperate in the promotion of peace and
stability in the region;
 to cooperate in strengthening the relations with the
rest of the world; and
 To contribute towards the establishment of the
African Economic Community.
4

COMESA Mission
To achieve increased co-operation and
integration in all fields of development,
particularly:  in trade, customs and monetary affairs;
 in transport, communications and
information;
 in technology, industry and energy;
 in agriculture, environment, natural
resources; and
 gender.
5
COMESA in Continental
Context



COMESA established through Lagos Plan of Action
which seeks to establish an African Economic
Community;
COMESA is a building block of the African
Economic Community as are ECOWAS, EAC,
SADC, IGAD, CEMAC, CEN-SAD and AMU
Tripartite Arrangement
6
COMESA trade Liberalization
COMESA Member States participating in the
FTA:
Burundi
Comoros
Djibouti
Egypt
Kenya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Libya
Rwanda
Sudan
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Seychelles
Non-FTA Countries:
Reduction of MFN rates.
DR Congo
Eritrea
Uganda
Ethiopia
Swaziland
Nil
80%
80%
10%
Under
derogation
as member of
SACU
7
COMESA Focal Programmes
In order to create an environment
conducive to free trade and investment
into the region, COMESA promotes, as a
priority:
 trade liberalisation;
 trade facilitation;
 liberalisation of financial & monetary
systems;
 investment promotion & private
sector support;
8
 Science and technology.
COMESA and STI
The COMESA Treaty Articles 127 and 128
deal with cooperation in the development of
Science and Technology and call for Member
States to, among other things :
• Build basic scientific and technological
research capabilities;
• Build conventional low and indigenous
technologies in craftsmanship & fabrication
techniques;
• Effect appropriate reforms in primary,
secondary and tertiary education in respect of
STI;
9
COMESA and STI Contd...
•Develop a plan for the development of applied
sciences in agric, health, industry, energy, etc;
•Allocate a minimum of 1% of GNP on science
and technology as recommended under the
Lagos Plan of Action;
•Cooperate with institutions working on STI;
•Ensure that research and development is
closely inter-linked with production units
10
New Impetus on Science and Technology
•The Theme of the COMESA meetings in 2010 and
2011 was, “Harnessing Science and Technology
for Development”
•At the COMESA Summit in Swaziland in 2010, the
Leaders, realising the importance of Science and
technology, made decisions as follows:
•the establishment of science and technology parks for COMESA
Region;
• the establishment of an ICT Training and Skills Development
Fund;
•elaboration of a common curriculum for COMESA in ICT in order
to introduce young people to ICT at an early age;
11
New Impetus on Science and Technology
•the establishment of Office of Advisor on Science and Technology
at the COMESA Secretariat;
•Member States to establish an Annual Innovation Award to
recognize outstanding accomplishment in science, technology and
innovation; and
•Put in place concrete mechanisms for leveraging science and
technology to address the key priorities in the region.
12
Steps Towards Implementation
Following the decisions of Summit, the Secretariat
has elaborated a Strategy and Implementation Plan
for the COMESA Programme on Science and
Technology with three components:
•Innovation systems - a network of institutions in the
public and private sector whose activities and interactions
initiate, import, modify and diffuse new technologies;
•Cluster Approach; and
•an action oriented strategy and learning approach
13
Steps Towards Implementation
COMESA will work with Partners to do the following:
•Putting in place the institutional framework;
•Studies to be undertaken to identify the industrial
clusters;
•Develop the common ICT Curriculum;
•Establish fund for ICT Training; and
•Analytical work for the identification and location of
Science and Technology parks
14
End of Presentation
Thank you.
15