200810242213 | Ugandan President Museveni closes tripartite Summit.

Ugandan President Museveni closes tripartite Summit.

The Tripartite Summit that brought together leaders of the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Southern Africa Development Conference (SADC) economic blocks has this evening ended at Munyonyo in Kampala. The meeting aimed at establishing closer economic integration as a precursor to total economic and political integration of the African continent.
President Museveni, in his closing remarks, commended fellow Heads of State and Government delegations from 26 member countries for the job well done. The summit ran under the theme “Deepening COMESA – EAC – SADC Integration”.

Mr. Museveni noted that the Tripartite Summit has ushered in a new era in the integration of Africa. He added that the core components of the integration are both political and economic. He stressed that economic integration is a stimulant to development while political integration provides lasting security for the population.

A communiqué issued at the end of the summit said the regional leaders had concentrated on trade, customs harmonization and economic integration.

The heads of State at the summit included Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Kgalema Montlanthe of South Africa, Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

Burundi was represented by its 2nd Vice-President Mr. Gabriel Ntisezerana while Swaziland and Lesotho had their respective Prime Ministers.

Other delegations came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, Seychelles, Namibia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Egypt and Libya.