COMESA (Common Markets for Eastern and Southern Africa) sixth Annual Research forum has been scheduled for 2nd September to 6th September 2019, at the Nairobi Safari Club Hotel.
Through this year’s theme of Promoting Intra-COMESA Trade through Innovation, the forum seeks to involve innovative minds from the technology field, researchers and participants from COMESA member-states, to discuss emerging topical issues in regional integration, among them the link between innovation and trade.
Research papers closely aligned with the theme will also be presented at the forum, which will later be published by COMESA in its flagship publication. Moreover, innovations that were nurtured through the COMESA Innovation Awards Programme will be showcased.
COMESA, whose mission is to achieve sustainable economic and social progress in all Member States through increased co-operation and integration in all fields of development particularly in trade, customs, and monetary affairs, transport, communication and information, technology, industry and energy, gender, agriculture, environment and natural resources, aims to enhance economic and trade policy analysis and research through the forum.
COMESA’s other thematic areas include the Free Trade Area, which was established in 2000 which has led to the reduction of tariffs amongst member states, therefore increasing the intra-COMESA trade.
In addition, COMESA has implemented a virtual trade facilitation system (VTFS) that helps in monitoring of consignments along different transportation routes throughout the region.
With its 21 member states, a population of over 550 million, and global trade of over $235 billion, COMESA forms a major market place for both internal and external trading.
