Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in <a href="/facts/Africa/XkqQUP9s">Africa</a> with twenty-one member states stretching from <a href="/facts/Tunisia/4uC8Po6k">Tunisia</a> to <a href="/facts/Eswatini/Mfz58p4W">Eswatini</a>. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981. Nine of the member states formed a <a href="/facts/Free_trade_area/drQ3kco6">free trade area</a> in 2000 (<a href="/facts/Djibouti/77jY0eII">Djibouti</a>, <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a>, <a href="/facts/Kenya/Y9Ko9pQu">Kenya</a>, <a href="/facts/Madagascar/ez12IAcY">Madagascar</a>, <a href="/facts/Malawi/HTj5q7Wc">Malawi</a>, <a href="/facts/Mauritius/lVUARna5">Mauritius</a>, <a href="/facts/Sudan/yGeaNdvS">Sudan</a>, <a href="/facts/Zambia/lCnlx5a1">Zambia</a> and <a href="/facts/Zimbabwe/8Yqt8490">Zimbabwe</a>), with <a href="/facts/Rwanda/UKR5UdKy">Rwanda</a> and <a href="/facts/Burundi/GTNtpIra">Burundi</a> joining the FTA in 2004, the <a href="/facts/Comoros/b6HkaTRQ">Comoros</a> and <a href="/facts/Libya/HMPH8PWR">Libya</a> in 2006, <a href="/facts/Seychelles/Ub9we8XU">Seychelles</a> in 2009, <a href="/facts/Uganda/PabdegRm">Uganda</a> in 2012 and <a href="/facts/Tunisia/4uC8Po6k">Tunisia</a> in 2018.
COMESA is one of the pillars of the <a href="/facts/African_Economic_Community/z1Iw59fA">African Economic Community</a>.
In 2008, COMESA agreed to an <a href="/facts/African_Free_Trade_Zone/ubMVwJNI">expanded free-trade zone</a> including members of two other African trade blocs, the <a href="/facts/East_African_Community/QDI3kyLP">East African Community</a> (EAC) and the <a href="/facts/Southern_Africa_Development_Community/xKfEt3Hb">Southern Africa Development Community</a> (SADC). COMESA is also considering a common visa scheme to boost tourism.

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa open-in-new

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa