Zambia does not need to choose to belong to either the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) because the focus now is on achieving continental integration, said Davidson Chilipamushi, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Commerce of Zambia.
Chilipamushi told a press briefing on Monday that Zambia was one of the countries that were currently looking at ways of harmonizing trade regimes for the SADC and the COMESA.
Both the trade blocs offered trade opportunities for the country hence the need to harmonize their operations, Times of Zambia quoted him as reporting on Tuesday.
"We have so far benefited for belonging to the two groupings. That is why harmonizing trade rules would be the best option," said Chilipamushi, adding that Zambia enjoyed better infrastructure in the SADC while it had a big market share in the COMESA.
Chilipamushi said experts from the SADC, the COMESA and the East African Community were expected to hold a summit in October this year whose main agenda would be to seek ways to harmonize trade regimes in various regional economic groupings.
He added that what was important was to increase the volume of trade and mitigate poverty in the region.
Meanwhile, Deputy Finance and National Planning Minister Jonas Shakafuswa said the launch of the SADC free trade area (FTA) this year would be a progressive development important to the private sector and other stake holders in the region.
Shakafuswa said SADC plans for its FTA and Customs Union were included as part of the integration road map outlined in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan.
He said this in Lusaka on Monday at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa-Southern Africa (ECA-SA) meeting of inter-governmental committee of experts on the progress and challenges towards the attainment of a FTA and Customs Union in Southern Africa.
Shakafuswa said the SADC overall regional integration road map includes the completion of negotiations for a customs union by 2010, the completion of negotiations for a common market by 2015 and the establishment of a monetary union by 2016 and a regional central bank with one common currency by 2018.
ECA-SA Director Jennifer Kargbo said the COMESA and the SADC were on course to achieve the milestones although challenges remained in some areas.
Kargbo said there was need to focus on getting measurable and concrete results through the involvement and full participation of all stakeholders.
Source:Xinhua
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