Southern and East Africa represent GDP of USD 624 billion
Kampala 10/20/08 – Three African regional organisations of economic integration, namely Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the East African Community (EAC), whose officials will be gathered for the first time on Wednesday, in Kampala, represent a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 624 billion.
Angola will participate in this first tripartite regional summit with a multi-sectorial delegation, led by the Industry minister, Joaquim David, who left last Sunday for Kampala.
Representing 57 per cent of the African Union, SADC, COMESA and EAC are the foundation of the African Economic Community (AEC), recognised in the African Union (AU) Constitutive Act and Abuja Treaty.
The summit aims at implementing the programmes for regional integration and economic development, including the creation of free trade areas, customs and monetary unions and common markets, as well as construction projects of infrastructures, transports, energy, information technologies and communication.
The aim of the three organisations is to reduce poverty and improve the quality of people's living standards in the Eastern and Southern regions of the continent.
SADC was created as a Conference of Coordination for Southern Africa Development in 1980, turning into a Development Community in 1992, gathering 15 member states.
COMESA was founded in 1994 and gathers 19 countries, while EAC was established in 2000, comprising five east African nations.