RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/COMTD/N/3
29June1995
ORGANIZATION(95-1769)
Original: English Committee onTrade andDevelopment
Second Session
5July1995
COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (COMESA)
Thefollowing notification, dated 4May 1995, hasbeen received from theOffice ofthe
Permanent Secretary oftheMinistry ofCommerce, Trade andIndustry oftheRepublic ofZambia
withtherequest thatitbecirculated toWTO Members.1
_______________________________
Atthemeeting which wasconvened inLilongwe, Malawi, on8December 1994, theHeads
ofStateandGovernment andCOMESA ratified theTreaty Establishing theCommon Market forEastern
andSouthern Africa, thereby declaring thedefinitive entryintoforceofCOMESA. Atthesamemeeting
theCOMESA Authority accepted theentry ofZaire intoCOMESA.
ThesignatoriesoftheCOMESATreaty,whichwasconcludedinKampala,RepublicofUganda,
on5November 1993, aretheRepublic ofAngola, theRepublic ofBurundi, theFederal Islamic Republic
ofComoros, theState ofEritrea, theTransitional Government ofEthiopia, theRepublic ofKenya,
theKingdom ofLesotho, theRepublic ofMalawi, theRepublic ofMauritius, theRepublic ofRwanda,
theRepublic ofSudan, theKingdom ofSwaziland, theUnited Republic ofTanzania, theRepublic of
Uganda, theRepublic ofZaire, theRepublic ofZambia andtheRepublic ofZimbabwe.
TheCOMESA Treaty supersedes thePreferential Trade AreaforEastern andSouthern African
States (PTA). Thethirty-six chapters include cooperation inalleconomic andsocial sectors ofthe
economies ofthemember States. COMESA 'smain objectives istoattain sustainable growth and
development ofthemember States bypromoting amore balanced andharmonious development of
itsproduction andmarketing structures andtopromote jointdevelopment inallfields ofeconomic
activity andthejointadoption ofmacro-economic policies andprogrammes toraisethestandard of
living ofitspeoples andtofoster closer relations among itsmember States.
TheTreaty provides fortheestablishment ofacustoms union, including acommon external
tariff, within atransitional period oftenyears andforfreemovement ofpersons andtheright of
establishment ofbusiness bynationals ofCOMESA inanymember States.
1Copies oftheTreaty, together withitsannexed Protocols, areavailable inRoom 3006 forconsultation in
English, French andPortuguese.