By STEVEN ZANDE –
Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba has urged regional groupings to strengthen regional integration for sustained peace and improved trade on the continent.
Mr Kalaba said regional groups such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) should promote dialogue in order to find solutions to problems that affected member countries.
He said Africa should address intra-trade challenges such as poor infrastructure, insufficient capacity and complex domestic regulations that affect production capacity.
Mr Kalaba said this when he officiated at a meeting of the African Union (AU), regional economic communities and African Development Bank (AfDB) heads in Lusaka yesterday.
“For national economic strategies to succeed, African countries should promote strong regional policies because regional integration increases efficiency of local industries and also provides market for local products,” he said.
Mr Kalaba urged the delegates to address the current continental problems which included the energy crisis, youth unemployment and political strife in parts of Africa.
AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina said the institution planned to invest approximately US$55 billion in developing industrial clusters in several African countries over a period of 10 years.
In a speech read by NEPAD director of regional integration and trade Moono Muyotola, Mr Adesina said the money would also be spent on empowering local entrepreneurs and developing industrial value chains.
Acting COMESA secretary general Nagla El-Husseiny said Africa should use long-term goals such as Agenda 2063 to foster common growth on the continent.
She said the AU was better positioned to promote and co-ordinate efforts of other regional bodies for the purpose of implementing programmes that would benefit the continent.