COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN
AND SOUTHERN AFRICA
FINAL COMMUNIQUÉ
OF THE SEVENTEENTH SUMMIT OF THE COMESA AUTHORITY
OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT
Theme: “Consolidating Intra – COMESA Trade through Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprise Development”
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
27 February 2014
THE SEVENTEENTH SUMMIT of the Authority of the Common Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) was held in Kinshasa, the
Democratic Republic of Congo from 26 - 27 February, 2014 with the theme
being: “Consolidating Intra-COMESA Trade through Micro, Small
and Medium Enterprise Development”.
The Summit was attended by the following COMESA Heads of State and
Government and Plenipotentiaries:
His Excellency, Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of the Democratic Republic of
Congo;
His Excellency, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda;
His Excellency, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe;
His Excellency, Omar Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan;
His Excellency, Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti;
His Excellency, Michael Chilufya Sata, President of the Republic of Zambia;
Her Excellency Mrs Joyce Banda, President of the Republic of Malawi;
His Excellency, William Samoei Ruto, Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya;
His Excellency, Mohammed Ali Soilihi, Vice-President of the Republic of Comoros in
Charge of Finance, Economy and Budget;
His Excellency, Dr Eng. Gervais Rufyikiri, Second Vice-President of the Republic of
Burundi;
His Excellency, Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, Prime Minister of the Republic of
Rwanda;
His Excellency, Senator Paul Dlamini, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of
Swaziland;
His Excellency Nabil Fahmy, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt;
Honourable Stifanos Habte, Minister of Trade and Industry of the State of Eretria;
Honourable Mohammed Emhemmed Abdel Aziz, Minister of Foreign Affairs and
International Co-operation, State of Libya;
Honourable Andriatiana Jacques Ulrich, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of
Madagascar;
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Honourable Arvin Boolell, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and
International Trade of the Republic of Mauritius;
Honourable Ahmed Shide Mohamed, State Minister of Finance and Economic
Development, of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia;
Ambassador Barry Faure, Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of
Seychelles.
The Summit was also attended by the following:
His Excellency Erastus Mwencha, the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union (AU)
Commission;
His Excellency, Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary General of United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development;
His Excellency, Carlos Lopes, Under Secretary General, UN and Executive Secretary
General, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA);
Her Excellency, Dr Stergomena Tax, Executive Secretary, Southern Africa
Development Community (SADC);
Prof. Ntumba Luaba, Executive Secretary, International Conference for the Great
Lakes Region (ICGLR); and
Mr Jean-Louis Ekra, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Africa ExportImport Bank (AFREXIMBANK).,
The following countries were represented at the Summit: Botswana, Canada,
China, Cuba, Nigeria, and Norway.
The following represented the COMESA Institutions: Mr Tadesse Admassu,
President, Eastern and Southern Africa Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank); Mr
Mahmoud Mansoor, Executive Secretary, COMESA Clearing House; His Lordship
Justice Nzamba Kitonga (SC), Judge President, COMESA Court of Justice; Mr George
Oduori Otieno, Chief Executive Officer, African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI); Dr
Amany Asfaw, Chairperson, COMESA Business Council; Dr M. Mwinyihija, Chief
Executive Officer, Leather and Leather Products Institute (LLPI); Mr George Lipimile,
Director, COMESA Competition Commission; Mrs Katherine N. Ichoya, Executive
Director, Federation of COMESA Associations of Women in Business in Eastern and
Southern Africa (FEMCOM); Dr Argent Chuula, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for
Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA); and Mr Ibrahim Zeidy,
Director, COMESA Monetary Institute.
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The following Organizations were represented at the Summit: Northern Corridor
Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTA); the International Organisation
of the Francophonie; New Economic Partnership for Africa; the United Nations
Development Programme; the World Bank; the Food, Agriculture and Natural
Resources Policy Analysis Network and International Organisation for Migration.
OPENING OF THE SUMMIT
WELCOME STATEMENT
In his welcome address, H.E President Joseph Kabila Kabange; welcomed their
Excellencies and distinguished delegates to Kinshasa in particular; and to Congo in
general. He informed the delegates that his country would spare no effort to ensure
that all the delegates were comfortable and well taken care of. He added that the 17th
Heads of State and Governments Summit was a very important occasion, availing yet
another opportunity for them to advance the COMESA regional integration
programmes.
He added that the region had reached that time in its history when we could say that
COMESA makes a difference in its peoples’ lives. The power that COMESA has as
an institution cannot be ignored, but rather should be channelled to the greater good
of its people. As the largest Free Trade Area in Africa, with 490 million people and a
combined GDP of US $425 billion, and a land mass of 16.5 million square kilometers
covering enormous natural resources, a 600% increase in intra-regional trade over the
last decade, and among the highest returns on investment in the world, COMESA is
an instrument and a force for development. He concluded that it is, therefore, an
honour for DRC to host the 17th Heads of State and Governments Summit.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda
expressed concern over the balkanization of Africa which has resulted in its weakness
and called for robust programmes in order to promote unity and strength. He
highlighted the importance of COMESA in bridging the gap created by the
balkanization of Africa. He pointed out that regional integration provides a large market
that supports significant levels of trade and investment and called for focused
programmes to build on entrepreneurship, access to finance and infrastructural
development, covering railways, roads, energy and ICT. He added that the region’s
main focus should be the development of infrastructure, as well as value addition to
ensure that the people in the region benefit greatly from the many natural resources
and the agricultural produce.
He said that during his tenure as Chairman of the COMESA Authority, in order to
address the infrastructure deficit of the region, COMESA held investment conferences
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and forums in Dubai, Yokohama and Kampala, to mobilize financial resources for
bankable projects, and to stimulate the implementation of investments in the region.
He concluded by requesting President Kabila to follow up on the submissions that
were made during the various infrastructure and investment conferences that were
held during his tenure as Chairperson. He extended his best wishes to President
Kabila and pledged his continued commitment and that of his country to supporting
DRC’s Chairmanship.
STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MICHAEL CHILUFYA SATA, PRESIDENT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA
His Excellency, President Sata, made his maiden statement to the COMESA Authority.
He expressed gratitude to His Excellency Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, the Government and the people of DRC for the warm
welcome that was accorded to all delegations. He called on COMESA Member States
to continue putting more efforts in infrastructure development in order to facilitate intraCOMESA trade. He also called upon COMESA Member States to intensify their efforts
in industrialization for value addition in order to create jobs and wealth that would
reduce poverty in the region.
He concluded by reiterating Zambia’s continued support to COMESA’s regional
integration agenda.
Statement by the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission
The Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Erastus
Mwencha, said that in an increasingly interconnected world, Africa must remain
vigilant and fully engaged in global processes, especially the on-going negotiations on
climate change, the post 2015 development agenda, the WTO trade agreement, as
well as the EPAs and extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, also known
as AGOA.
He added that it was important for the regions that were concluding Economic
Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations to ensure that these agreements do not
hamper or undermine our continental integration agenda. On WTO, he said that the
AU January 2014 Summit directed that Africa should undertake a “reality check” on
the outcomes of recent Bali WTO Ministerial Conference , and come up with a common
strategy on how Africa will implement the “Bali Package”.
Statement by the Secretary General of UNCTAD
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The Secretary General of UNCTAD, Dr Mukhisa Kituyi made a statement to the
Summit on the Post -2015 Sustainable Development Agenda and its implications for
trade and development in COMESA Member States. He delivered a message of
goodwill from the Secretary General of the United Nations, His Excellency Mr Ban Kimoon.
He then informed the Summit that as a past chairperson of the COMESA Council of
Ministers, he had firsthand experience of the challenges that COMESA Member States
face in their quest for sustainable development. He, therefore, urged them to go on
with intensifying their efforts in improving intra-COMESA trade by focusing on
industrialization for value addition and infrastructure development especially in the
energy sector. He also called upon the Member States to further build capacity in the
multi-lateral trade negotiations and the post-2015 sustainable development agenda;
and its implications on trade in the COMESA region.
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON NATURAL RESOURCES AS AN ANCHOR FOR
TRANSFORMATION
The Heads of State and Government exchanged views on the critical subject of natural
resources in Africa during a session facilitated by Dr Carlos Lopes, the Executive
Secretary of the ECA, entitled: “Turning the Tables: Natural resources as an Anchor
for Transformation”. They underscored the need for: attitude change in the civil service
and political leadership in order to facilitate developmental initiatives, large markets to
support increasing trade and entrepreneurship to innovate products and services,
skills development and retention of talent in order to address brain drain and shortage
of required personnel, development enablers including peace and security and
infrastructure, capacity building for negotiation and re-negotiation of contracts in order
to maximize returns on Africa's minerals, alternative sources of energy especially
renewable energy, industrialisation as the anchor for social economic development,
political determination to translate potential into reality, change of the narrative about
Africa to focus on the rising Africa, and a developmental state.
AFTER THE FORMAL OPENING OF THE SUMMIT, THE AUTHORITY:
ELECTED by acclamation His Excellency President Joseph Kabila Kabange,
President of the Republic of the Democratic Republic of Congo as Chairperson; His
Excellency Hailemariam Desalegn, the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia, as Vice-Chairperson; and His Excellency President Yoweri
Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda as Rapporteur;
EXPRESSED gratitude to His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the
Republic of Uganda and Outgoing Chairperson of the COMESA Authority for his
illustrious and outstanding leadership of COMESA for the period of 2012-2013;
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RECOGNISED and expressed gratitude to His Excellency Joseph Kabila Kabange,
President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, for his excellent and steadfast support
and leadership on the COMESA Bureau as Vice-Chairman;
RECOGNISED and expressed gratitude to Her Excellency Mrs Joyce Banda, the
President of the Republic of Malawi, for her excellent and steadfast support and
leadership on the COMESA Bureau as the Chairperson and Rapporteur, for the past
three years;
CONSIDERED AND ADOPTED the Report of the Thirty Second Meeting of the
COMESA Council of Ministers; and
CONSIDERED AND ADOPTED the Report of the Thirteenth Meeting of the COMESA
Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
ON THE COMESA FREE TRADE AREA
NOTED with appreciation that intra-COMESA trade has increased six times to US
$19.3 billion by the end of 2012, since the establishment of the FTA in 2000 when the
trade stood at US $3.1 billion;
NOTED with appreciation that forty percent of intra COMESA Trade was through Micro
Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) thus contributing to economic growth, wealth
creation and improving the living standards of people;
DIRECTED the Secretariat to undertake an audit and impact assessment of existing
NTBs in order to come up with a schedule for their removal, by 31 August 2014; and
COMMENDED the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Uganda on their commitment to deposit their
accession instruments to the COMESA FTA with the Secretariat not later than
December 2014.
ON THE COMESA CUSTOMS UNION
URGED Member States to domesticate and implement the customs union decisions,
in particular the customs management regulations and the common tariff
nomenclature; and
REQUESTED Member States that have not domesticated the customs union
instruments to provide annual updates on the status of implementation and
domestication of the customs union instruments.
ON MICRO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSMEs) AND WOMEN IN
BUSINESS
ADOPTED the COMESA Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME) Strategy; and
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COMMENDED the positive impact of the COMESA Micro Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs) Cluster Programme that has contributed towards national and
regional value chains and business partnerships among MSMEs;
URGED Member States to support women entrepreneurs by increasing their inclusion
and participation in policy making bodies such as corporate boards; and
DIRECTED the Joint Committee of Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors
to consider the proposal of setting up of a COMESA MSME Fund and a Women
Economic Empowerment Fund that would facilitate access to affordable financing and
capacity building by ensuring the inclusion of women and the youth.
ON INDUSTRIALIZATION OF THE COMESA REGION
ACKNOWLDGED that natural resources are an anchor for the economic and social
transformation of societies;
UNDERSCORED the importance of commodity-based industrialization;
NOTED with satisfaction the new COMESA initiative on minerals value addition and
industrial clusters;
NOTED with appreciation the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed
between COMESA and the Government of Western Australia for the establishment of
working relationships that will build capacity in the mining and mineral beneficiation
sector and value addition in Member States; and
DIRECTED the Secretariat to draft a common industrialization policy for consideration
by Member States by June 2014.
ON THE TRIPARTITE FREE TRADE AREA
NOTED with appreciation the progress made in the Tripartite FTA negotiations;
URGED Member States to ensure that the negotiations are completed by June 2014
in accordance with the roadmap that was agreed upon;
CALLED UPON COMESA Member States to finalise the outstanding issues
particularly on tariff offers and rules of origin;
URGED COMESA Member States to ensure that the Tripartite FTA is an improvement
over the existing FTAs in the Tripartite region; and
DIRECTED the Secretariat to appropriately prioritise work on the infrastructure and
industrial development pillars and movement of business persons.
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ON DOMESTICATION OF LEGAL INSTRUMENTS AND DECISIONS FOR
PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
URGED Member States to expeditiously domesticate all COMESA legal instruments.
ON MONETARY COOPERATION AND THE CLEARING HOUSE
NOTED with appreciation the decision of the Joint Committee of Ministers of Finance
and Central Bank Governors to convert the Committee into the COMESA
Convergence Council, which shall be responsible for overseeing the implementation
of the COMESA Multilateral Fiscal Surveillance Framework;
COMMENDED the Central Banks of Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Swaziland and
Uganda for going live and transacting on the COMESA Regional Payment and
Settlement Systems (REPSS);
COMMENDED the Central Banks of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt,
Kenya, Sudan, and Zambia for scheduling to start live operations by 30 June 2014;
URGED Central Banks that have not yet met the prerequisites for joining REPSS to
do so by June 2014.
ON MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS
ELIMINATION OF THE SUGAR QUOTA BY THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU) AFTER
2017
RECALLED with appreciation that the EU had provided funds to enable sugar
exporting countries to adjust their sugar industries to the post 2017 sugar quota
regime;
NOTED with concern the decision by the EU to abolish internal sugar quota in
September 2017 and that the decision will have a negative impact on COMESA sugar
exporting Member States to the EU; and
CALLED UPON the EU to postpone the elimination of the quota to September 2020
and put at the disposal of COMESA sugar exporting Member States additional
resources to pursue the modernization of the sugar sector towards becoming globally
competitive.
ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN EASTERN
AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (ESA) AND THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU)
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REITERATED the commitment of ESA Group of countries to conclude a developmentfriendly and inclusive EPA with EU that enhances regional integration, economic
performance and competitiveness of the region and which will lead to economic
transformation and poverty reduction in the region;
EXPRESSED concern over the lack of progress in full ESA-EU EPA negotiations over
the past three years and specifically conditions set by the EU Party in order to convene
the next session on full EPA negotiations; and
DIRECTED ESA Council to engage the EU and EC to revive EPA negotiations and
ensure that the full ESA-EU EPA adequately responds to the key developmental
needs of ESA countries.
ON WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
WELCOMED the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement adopted at the Ninth WTO
Ministerial Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2013; and
CALLED UPON COMESA Member States to consider adopting a common trade
facilitation programme drawing on the COMESA trade facilitation instruments.
ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
NOTED with satisfaction the inauguration of the COMESA Innovation Awards and
congratulated the eleven winners; and
DIRECTED the Innovation Council to upscale the popularization of the awards among
the Member States in order to promote the culture of innovation especially among the
youth.
ON INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
RECOGNISED the importance of infrastructure networks that link production centres
and distribution hubs across the region;
NOTED with satisfaction the resource mobilisation efforts towards infrastructure
development, including the Kampala Investment Conference and the submission of
infrastructure projects to the BRICs Summit, Yokohama TICAD V Investment Forum
and the Dubai Investment Forum;
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COMMENDED Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda for adopting innovative
financing mechanisms to develop a modern standard gauge railway network; and
ENDORSED the decisions taken to ensure effective and efficient implementation of
the physical infrastructure, trade and transit transport facilitation projects as well as
creation of enabling environment to stimulate investment and mobilise resources for
projects preparation and development.
COMESA FUND
NOTED with appreciation the support given by the European Union to the COMESA
Adjustment Facility;
URGED Member States that are members of the COMESA Fund and have not yet
submitted their sources of verification to do so; and
DIRECTED the Secretariat to work with Member States that are not yet members of
the COMESA Fund to accede to the COMESA Fund Protocol.
ON AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT
URGED COMESA Member States that have not yet finalized their National
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Compacts and
National Investment Plans to do so expeditiously.
ON GENDER AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS
NOTED with satisfaction the establishment of a COMESA Youth Programme, in
partnership with the private sector, for economic empowerment of the youth; and
ADOPTED the COMESA Social Charter.
ON DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE
REITERATED the importance of democracy and good governance in the maintenance
of peace, security and stability;
URGED COMESA Member States to continue strengthening democratic processes,
structures and institutions to in order to consolidate democracy and good governance
of the region;
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CONGRATULATED His Excellency, President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, and Deputy
President William Samoei Ruto upon their election as Fourth President of the Republic
of Kenya and first Deputy President, respectively;
COMMENDED the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC) on its
professional management of the elections despite the added complexities of the 2013
election;
CONGRATULATED His Excellency, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, upon his reelection as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe;
COMMENDED the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for their professional
management of the harmonized elections; and the Government of Zimbabwe for
funding its elections budget;
CONGRATULATED His Excellency President Hery Martial Rajaonarimampianina
Rakotoarimanana on his election as the first President of the fourth Republic of
Madagascar elected democratically;
COMMENDED the National Elections Commission in the Transition (CENIT) and the
Special Electoral Court (CES) of Madagascar for their professional management of
the elections despite the added challenges of the transition period;
CONGRATULATED the people of the Kingdom of Swaziland as well as the Swaziland
Electoral and Boundaries Commission for successfully holding peaceful elections;
CONGRATULATED the National Electoral Commission of Rwanda as well as the
people of Rwanda for successfully holding the national elections under peaceful
conditions;
COMMENDED the Republic of Rwanda for funding most of its elections budget;
LOOKED FORWARD to the positive developments on the path of implementing the
Roadmap, in particular the adoption of the new constitution and the preparations of
the presidential elections and looked forward to speedy resumption of Egypt’s
participation in the African Union activities as soon as possible;
COMMENDED the cooperation extended by the Government of Egypt to the AU High
Level Panel, and looked forward to the Panel’s final report;
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APPRECIATED outgoing members of the COMESA Committee of Elders, Madam
Soad Shalaby of Egypt and Ambassador Priya Anund Newoor of Mauritius for their
exemporary service;
ENDORSED the election of Honorable Immaculee Nahayo of Burundi, Ambassador
Bethuel Kiplagat of Kenya, Mrs Mary Catherine Nkosi of Malawi, Ambassador Dr.
Mahjoub Al-Basha of Sudan, and Honorable Felix Mutati of Zambia as members of
the COMESA Committee of Elders; and APPOINTED them for a term of four years;
ADOPTED both the Guidelines on the Conduct of COMESA Election Observer
Missions and the establishment of a COMESA Electoral Management Body’s Forum;
and
URGED COMESA Member States to provide regular financial support to the
programme on Democracy, Peace and Security for greater ownership.
ON PEACE AND STABILITY
REITERATED the importance of peace, security and stability for creating an enabling
environment for investment, economic development and a viable integration for the
region;
REITERATED the importance of comprehensive post conflict reconstruction as an
imperative to successful peace processes and WELCOMED the tremendous efforts
made by Burundi, Comoros and the Democratic Republic of Congo;
DIRECTED the Secretariat to prioritize the development and implementation of post
conflict programmes;
COMMENDED the Democratic Republic of Congo for its efforts to restore peace and
security at the eastern parts of the country and in particular;
CONGRATULATED the FARDC on its victory over the M23 and also REITERATED
its call on the signatories of the Regional Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework
to expeditiously implement all the remaining commitments including Disarmament,
Demobilization and Reintegration of ex-combatants;
EXPRESSED satisfaction at the continued improvement in the overall security
situation in Somalia and REITERATED its appreciation to AMISOM troop contributing
countries: Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone;
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EXPRESSED deep concern over the eruption of conflict in South Sudan and
COMMENDED IGAD for the efforts made towards resolving the conflict and
particularly recognizing efforts of H. E Prime Minister Hailemariam, H. E. President
Kenyatta, H. E. President Museveni; H. E. President Al-Bashir, and His Excellency,
Ismail Omar Guelleh; and further CALLED for the comprehensive resolution to the
conflict addressing the root and propagating factors to the conflict;
DIRECTED the Secretariat of COMESA to initiate a discussion with Somali
government towards rejoining COMESA;
ASSOCIATED itself with the African Union Summit Decision on the Progress Report
on Implementation of the Decisions on the International Criminal Court and in
particular WELCOMED the outcome of the 12th Session of the Assembly of State
Parties to the Rome Statute and on inclusion on its agenda of a special segment on
“indictment of African sitting Heads of State and Governments by the ICC due to its
consequences on peace, stability and reconciliation in Member States” and the
amendments of rule 134 of the Rules and Procedure and Evidence of the ICC;
COMMENDED African members of the Assembly of State Parties of the Rome Statute
on their unity resulting in the unprecedented amendment of Articles 68, 100 and 134(b)
the Rome Statute; and URGED Member States to support proposals for the
amendment of Articles 16 and 27 of the Rome Statute;
WELCOMED efforts by the Government of Burundi to open political space through the
return of Burundi political actors from exile to participate in formal national politics and
URGED the political players to embrace dialogue, reconciliation and nation-building;
COMMENDED the Government of Burundi for its continued efforts to resolve the land
disputes and URGED all concerned parties to embrace dialogue and consensus while
working within legal channels to address any disagreements in view of the sensitive
nature of land issues;
ADOPTED a reporting template for the COMESA Conflict Early Warning system;
URGED the Secretariat to produce and disseminate Structural Vulnerability
Assessments forecasts and response options to Member States on a regular basis;
ON SECURITY
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STRONGLY CONDEMNED all activities of negative forces operating in the region
including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Democratic Forces for the Liberation
of Rwanda (FDLR) and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA);
CONGRATULATED the FARDC and UN Intervention Brigade on their victory over the
M23 rebellion and commended and ENCOURAGED the Forces Armie de la
Republique du Congo (FARDC) and the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission in
Congo (MONUSCO/IB) to continue operations to neutralize the remaining negative
forces;
WELCOMED the conclusions of the Kampala Dialogue and the signing of declarations
by the Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 movement;
CONGRATULATED President Museveni for his tireless efforts at seeking a diplomatic
solution to the problem; and COMMENDED President Kabila for his commitment to
restore stability in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo;
WELCOMED the renewed commitment by the Co-operation Initiative for the
Elimination of the Lords’ Resistance Army (RCI-LRA) member countries to enhance
their efforts to fight the LRA and CALLED ON the international community to render
the necessary support to enable them to completely eliminate of the LRA;
WELCOMED the results of elections in Libya of sixty members of the Constituent
Assembly responsible for the drafting of the Constitution; and REITERATED its calls
on the government to fully disarm and demobilize the militia operating in Libya and to
strengthen the national army and the security sector;
CONDEMNED the senseless killing of innocent civilians by terrorists including the
attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, attacks at the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, and
the attacks in Libya and all other terror attacks in the region;
COMDEMNED the barbaric attack which was perpetrated by Al-Shabaab against the
Presidential palace which resulted in the loss of life of many AMISOM and Somali
soldiers;
AND EXPRESSED condolences to the families of the deceased.
ON COMESA INSTITUTIONS
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RECOGNISED with appreciation the contribution made by COMESA Institutions
namely: the Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), Alliance for Commodity Trade in
Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA) COMESA Business Council (CBC), COMESA
Court of Justice, COMESA Clearing House, COMESA Competition Commission
(CCC), COMESA Monetary Institute (CMI), COMESA Infrastructure Fund, Federation
of the National Associations of Women in Business (FEMCOM), Leather and Leather
Products Institute(LLPI), PTA Bank, Regional Investment Agency(RIA) and ZEP-RE;
in supporting the COMESA Integration Agenda;
COMMENDED the COMESA institutions on their satisfactory performance since the
last summit in November 2012, and called upon Member States to support and utilize
the institutions; and
URGED COMESA institutions to do more in supporting the COMESA Regional
Integration Agenda;
COMMENDED the ECOWAS Council of Ministers for agreeing that all ECOWAS
Member States should join the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI);
COMMENDED the COMESA Competition Commission for facilitating notifications on
mergers and acquisitions worth US $13 billion within twelve (12) months of
commencing operations;
CALLED upon the Commission to intensify its advocacy and awareness activities to
enhance compliance with the provisions of the COMESA Competition Regulations by
Member States;
CALLED UPON LLPI to develop a regional strategy for the leather sector in COMESA;
URGED COMESA Member States to streamline and develop the leather industry to
become competitive and productive through industrialization of the sector in order for
it to contribute to the creation of jobs and wealth especially among rural communities;
ON FINANCING REGIONAL INTEGRATION
URGED COMESA Member States to continue examining alternative means of
financing COMESA Programme; and
DIRECTED the Secretariat to develop a comprehensive paper on financing regional
integration for consideration by the Joint Committee of Ministers of Finance and
Central Bank Governors.
ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL COURT OF
DJIBOUTI
WELCOMED the efforts deployed by the Republic of Djibouti for the creation of the
Djibouti International Commercial Court based in the Djibouti free zone;
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NOTED that the COMESA Centre for Arbitration is hosted by the Republic of Djibouti
through an agreement signed in 1989; and
DIRECTED the Secretariat to carry out further studies on the request made by the
Republic of Djibouti to house the COMESA Arbitration Centre within the jurisdiction of
the International Commercial Court of Djibouti.
ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
SWORE in and Congratulated Ms. Lucy Nyambura Mbatia as Registrar of the
COMESA Court of Justice;
REGULARISED the tenure of the following Judges of the COMESA Court of Justice:
1. Honourable Justice Mr. Kheshoe P. Matadeen, (Mauritius) – Appellate
Division;
2. Honourable Justice Mr. Duncan G. Tambala, (Malawi) – Appellate Division;
3. Honourable Justice Mr. James M. Ogoola, (Uganda) – First Instance
Division;
4. Honurable Justice Luke Malaba, (Zimbabwe) – First Instance Division;
5. Honourable Justice Madame Hortense Rabenjarivelo Nee Rakotomena
(Madagascar) – First Instance Division.
ON COOPERATION BETWEEN COMESA AND PARTNERS
EXPRESSED appreciation to the co-operating partners for their continued support to
the implementation of COMESA programmes.
ON HOSTING OF UPCOMING COMESA SUMMITS
WELCOMED the offers by Ethiopia to host the 18th Summit; by Madagascar to host
the 19th Summit; and by Burundi to hold the 20th Summit.
VOTE OF THANKS
His Excellency, Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti moved a
vote of thanks to the host, His Excellency President Joseph Kabila Kabange, President
of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the people of DRC for hosting the Summit
and for the warm hospitality extended to all delegations.
He stated that the Summit had been crucial and generated fundamental ways forward
on a number of critical issues such as: improvement of peace and security in the
COMESA region; implementation of COMESA obligations, transformation of
COMESA economies through development of natural resources, infrastructure
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development; facilitation of investment and the private sector; and the commitment of
three key Member States, namely DR Congo, Ethiopia and Uganda to join the FTA by
the end of this year.
CLOSING OF THE SUMMIT
In closing the Summit, His Excellency President Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of
the Democratic Republic of Congo, commended the progress made in the
implementation of COMESA programmes and the Tripartite Arrangement. He also
emphasized the need for expeditious implementation by Member States of all the
Decisions of the Summit. He underscored the importance of achieving greater strides
in peace and security.
He emphasized the importance of programmes for supporting the business community
especially MSMEs in areas such as access to finance and strengthening of regional
capital markets; and added that infrastructure development in the region will still be
prioritised during DRC’s tenure as Chair of the COMESA Authority. He said that the
opportunity for the business community to network and establish linkages and
partnerships will enable the region to move to greater heights.
President Kabila further said that COMESA is one of the best instruments for unity,
economic growth, and efficiency. He informed the meeting that going forward there
was agreement to focus on the following priority areas: education in science and
technology for social transformation, peace and security, infrastructure development,
movement of people, and industrialization that will involve building processing
industries to add value. He also called on COMESA Member States to focus on
attaining sustainable development that preserves the environment.
The Authority ADOPTED its Final Communiqué as read by Honourable Raymond
Tshibanda N’Tungamulongo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation
and Francophonie, of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
DONE at the Cite de l’Union africaine, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on
27 February 2014 in the Arabic, English and French languages; all texts being equally
authentic.
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