Officials from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) member countries began their two-day meeting in Lusaka on Monday to explore ways to strengthen their cooperation in the energy sector.

Speaking at the first meeting of the COMESA Committee on Energy, COMESA Secretary General Erastus Mwencha said energy plays an important role in determining the macroeconomic performance of member countries.

He noted that the average electricity price for industry in the COMESA region is 7.6 US cents, much higher than 1.3 US cents in South Africa, or 4.8 US cents in the United States.

The exorbitant cost of energy has had a negative impact on foreign direct investment, economic growth and intra-COMESA trade, he said.

Mwencha said the COMESA secretariat is working to develop a COMESA energy program in accordance with the COMESA Treaty, which will focus on encouraging member countries to cooperate in joint development and utilization of energy resources in order to secure sufficient supplies of energy to the region at affordable prices.

The secretariat has carried out a study on the status of energy in the COMESA region and the way forward, he said.

"The study has identified that energy policy and regulatory harmonization, development of regional energy infrastructure, joint procurement of petroleum products and trade in electricity, should be the main priority focus areas and that the energy program should address them," he said.

The secretary general urged the Committee on Energy to identify, prioritize and develop a strategy on how to address these issues by setting up a plan of action that will enable COMESA to achieve its vision of fully integrated and competitive regional economy.

COMESA is a major regional integration body in Africa. Its 20 member countries have a combined population of 386 million and a combined gross domestic production of about 220 billion US dollars.

Source: Xinhua