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COMESA, EU Hold High-Level Talks in Lusaka
(MENAFN) The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the European Union (EU) convened a landmark dialogue session in Lusaka on Tuesday, as both blocs moved to reinforce ties spanning regional integration, economic transformation, peace and security, and sustainable development across eastern and southern Africa.
The EU-COMESA Strategic Political Dialogue, held in the Zambian capital, brought together senior officials at a moment of acute global disruption — a backdrop that lent particular urgency to the discussions.
COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe opened proceedings by framing the meeting against a world in flux, citing cascading pressures reshaping trade and investment across the globe. "These developments are directly affecting Africa and the COMESA region, including the efficiency of trade corridors, food and energy security, financial and fiscal capabilities, investment flows, and the cost of doing business," she said.
Kapwepwe underscored that the dialogue represents a timely strategic opportunity to reassess the COMESA-EU partnership in light of the evolving international environment, and extended recognition to Brussels for its sustained engagement with the bloc. She commended the EU for being one of COMESA's most consequential development and trading partners, noting that their various collaborative efforts underscore the growing role of regional frameworks in confronting global challenges.
Karolina Stasiak, the EU's ambassador to Zambia and special representative to COMESA, affirmed Brussels' commitment to the partnership, describing the dialogue itself as a signal of how seriously the EU takes its relationship with the regional body.
Pointing to a shared vision of building prosperous, stable and sustainable economies, Stasiak commended COMESA for its steady advances in regional integration. She outlined the EU's priorities going forward: deepening cooperation on peace and security, backing COMESA's conflict mediation efforts, investing in resilient trade corridors, and targeting the structural root causes of instability across the region.
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