Malawi President attends COMESA summit

President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika is attending 20th Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) heads of state and governments’ summit in Zambia.

The President departed via Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe to Lusaka saying will deliver two key note addresses focusing on digital economy and integrating the youth in financial management and how it can help in eradicating poverty in COMESA region.

“I will address the summit on these issues as champion of youth welfare both at local and international stage,” Mutharika said.

He said Theme for this year’s summit meeting is “COMESA: Towards Digital Economic integration.

“The theme intends to highlight the prevailing focus on fully digitizing the COMESA Free Trade Area business processes under the digital Free Trade Area initiative, which will incorporate e-Commerce, e-Legislation and e-logistics,” explained Malawi president.

Mutharika said the drive towards digital integration was introduced after an agreement made during the COMESA Council of Ministers committee meeting held in the same city of Lusaka, Zambia in November last year.

He said the 20th COMESA summit is set to make history with its membership poised to rise from 19 to 21 as Somalia and Tunisia become new members after fulfilling terms and conditions of accession to the body’s treaty.

“The joining of the two will make the bloc the largest regional economic community in Africa,” Mutharika sai

Malawi president said the summit is also expected to appoint a new chairperson to take over from Sindiso Ngwenya, a Zimbabwean economist and transportation expert whose tenure is coming to an end.