By Balewa Zyuulu
Vice President Mutale Nalumango says addressing conflicts in the COMESA region is a prerequisite for enhanced regional integration and economic growth.
Speaking when she officially opened the 18th COMESA Meeting of
Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Lusaka today, Mrs. Nalumango said insurgencies in the Democratic republic of Congo and the escalating fighting in Sudan if not urgently addressed may continue to adversely affect the region's growth prospects.
Mrs. Nalumango reiterates that in the absence of peace and security, trade facilitation and the movement of both goods and people is compromised.
And COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe says it is elating that recent report of the Africa Development Bank has projected stable economic growth for Africa in 2023 and 2024, in spite of the multiple shocks experienced globally in the past years.
Ms. Kapwepwe says it is however critical to pay attention to some of the factors that could constrain efforts aimed at attaining higher levels of resilience such as political instability around elections and the impact of climate change among others.
PHOENIX NEWS