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EU gives COMESA 85 mln euros for regional economic integration

Xinhua, November 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Union (EU) has given the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) 85 million euros grants for regional economic integration up to the year 2020, a statement released on Monday said.

The funds are provided under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF).

Alessandro Mariani, the new EU Ambasador to Zambia, said the grants will be used to reduce the cost of cross-border trade through the removal of internal barriers in line with tripartite agreement, increase private sector participation in regional and global value chains.

In remarks delivered when he presented his letters of credence at the COMESA Secretariat, the EU envoy said the other objective of the grants will be to help Africa's largest trading bloc to improve investment and business climate as well as enhance competitiveness and productivity.

The two organizations, he said, have already started identifying trade-related projects.

"The funds will increase private sector participation in regional and global value chains through improved investment/business climate and enhance competitiveness and productive capacity.

The beneficiaries are the COMESA Secretariat and the member states including the private sector which will also be helped to enhance their capacity to deepen regional integration," he said.

The EU has further given COMESA 600 million euros towards infrastructure financing envelope under the Eastern and Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean (EA-SA-IO).

The funds will go towards improving connectivity, capacity building, efficiency and resilience of regional infrastructure, he added.

Sindiso Ngwenya, COMESA Secretary-general, said the EU has remained the leading cooperating partner for the implementation of the bloc's regional integration agenda.

He further said the regional bloc has recorded key achievements such as expansion of its free trade area to include more countries with the support of the EU. Endit