The Chairperson of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamad, urged the people to start thinking of the name of the African Currency. He expressed his views on unifying the African Currency during the 22nd COMESA Summit of Heads of State and Government. The capital of Zambia, Lusaka played host to the leaders and African community for the event. The event took place on Thursday, June 8, 2023
The theme for the event was: “Economic Integration for A Thriving COMESA Anchored on Green Investment, Value Addition and Tourism. “Albert Muchanga reached the speech on behalf of the Chairperson of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamad. Chairperson Mahamad said the Currency naming will be up to the African people. He reasoned that they are the sole owners of the Currency.
Mahamad further said the COMESA member states are the major tourist destinations in Africa. Accordingly, he spoke about the need to focus on tourism development and marketing strategically. He said as the COMESA region strives to utilize its resources, it should also be aware of the possible threats to growth. He insisted that these nations may face compromised peace and stability threats.
Speaking at the same event, President of Kenya William Ruto expressed concern at the region’s intra-Africa trade. He said the trade volume stands at 17 per cent while other areas are at 70 per cent. Further, He agreed with President Hakainde Hichilema’s call to eliminate all trade barriers to improve the situation.
Meanwhile, President of the Republic of Malawi Lazarus Chakwera called for the robust integration of regional economies. This will help them to recover from global problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that these issues negatively affected COMESA member states.
He expressed optimism that economic integration will help countries have collective resilience against unpredictable external forces coming against member states with greater frequency. The secretary general of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, also added that the economic cooperation would help countries to overcome challenges associated with the harsh impact of climate change.
