Africa Should Increase Trade With Africa, Says Zambia Commerce Minister

By staff Writer

Zambian Commerce Minister Robert Sichinga has called for increased trade among member States of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and other regional blocs in Africa to ensure development.

Addressing the 19th East and Southern Africa Economic Partnership Agreement Council of Ministers meeting in Lusak on Monday July 21, Sichinga also stressed the need for industrialization within the region to create jobs and economic transformation.

The minister, who is also the current Chair of the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) bloc, said the ESA agreed to negotiate Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union (EU) to support economic performance and competitiveness.

Comesa Secretary-General Sindiso Ngwenya said there was a need to look at how to get countries within the region to trade with one another. Comesa is a free trade area with 19 member States stretching from Libya to Swaziland.

He expressed regret that imports of sugar within the region amounted to only about US$246 million compared with US$2.0 billion worth of the commodity imported from outside Comesa, including countries like Costa Rica.

He said there was a need to come up with industrialization strategies in Africa which had huge stocks of raw materials.

African nations have been emphasizing trade cooperation among themselves with the increased insecurity cases on the continent causing the west to issue travel advisories to its citizens, majorly affecting the continent economy which since the scramble of Africa have depended heavily on their colonial masters.