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Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
General information
Administrative centerSeat of Secretariat
Official languagesEnglish, French and Portuguese
Membership22 member states
Organization typeTrade bloc
Government
Secretary GeneralSindiso Ngwenya
Signed5 November 1993
Ratified8 December 1994
Geography
Demography
Economy
Other information
Websitehttp://www.comesa.int/

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The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, is a free trade area with nineteen member states stretching from Libya to Zimbabwe. COMESA formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981. Nine of the member states formed a free trade area in 2000 (Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe), with Rwanda and Burundi joining the FTA in 2004 and the Comoros and Libya in 2006.

COMESA is one of the pillars of the African Economic Community.

In 2008, COMESA agreed to an expanded free-trade zone including members of two other African trade blocs, the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).


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