SADC, the East African Community (EAC), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) plan to expand export markets for goods and services.

This follows the establishment of the Tripartite Free Trade Area by the three regional communities.

SADC’s Executive Secretary, Elias Magosi, briefed the just-ended summit of regional leaders on the progress.

“I am pleased to report that as part of the ongoing efforts to expand our markets beyond the SADC region, the Agreement Establishing the Tripartite Free Trade Area among the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), and SADC entered into force on July 25, 2024, paving the way for the Member and Partner States of the Tripartite to access a larger market of 26 countries with a population of about 700 million and a GDP of one trillion United States dollars. As the Chairperson of the Tripartite Task Force, I have already notified all the Tripartite Members and Partner States about this positive development, which is a key milestone in the promotion of intra-African trade and the enhancement of economic integration in the Tripartite area,“ Magosi said.

While the tripartite agreement gives SADC an edge in trading beyond its borders, intra-regional trade remains below expectations, at 23% at last count.

The bloc says strategic interventions will be deployed once the Secretariat completes compiling reports of detailed lists of the top 10 exports and imports of SADC member states.

Chairperson of SADC, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, said that the current crop of leaders has a weighty responsibility to facilitate a conducive environment for the citizenry to thrive and do their part for the realisation of the modern and industrialised region.