Note that Burundi will host the 23rd Summit of the Conference of the Heads of State and Government of COMESA which will be held in Burundi this year. During that summit, Burundi will succeed Zambia as President. During their conversation, Her Excellency Evelyne BUTOYI informed the Secretary General of COMESA that the Government of Burundi wishes to strengthen the cooperative relations with that organization so that the country can promote the achievement of the goals and objectives of the common market through the cooperation in various fields. She also promised to contribute to the COMESA in achieving the objectives it has set for itself. In turn, the Secretary General of COMESA congratulated the Ambassador of Burundi and highly appreciated the Burundi’s commitment to the strengthening cooperative relations with COMESA. Madam Kapwepwe also wished Ambassador Evelyne BUTOYI a good job and she stressed that COMESA is ready to work within the framework of strengthening the beneficial cooperation to the member countries. In the past, the Republic of Burundi has received the support from COMESA in the areas of trade, energy and the promotion of the women’s economic empowerment. Currently, Burundi is implementing the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation Program funded by the World Bank in collaboration with COMESA. That program pursues a triple objective, namely: improving livelihoods in the border areas between Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, promoting the cross-border trade and strengthening the economic interdependence. Burundi is also one of the countries implementing the simplified trade regime which aims to formalizing the informal cross-border trade by putting in place the instruments and the mechanisms adapted to the commercial needs of the small cross-border traders. In promoting peace and security, last year, Burundi hosted the 3rd High-level Ministerial Conference on the role of Government, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms in promoting the youth, peace agenda and security in the East African region co-organized by the African Union and COMESA. On Monday February 12, 2024, Mrs Evelyne BUTOYI, Ambassador of the Republic of Burundi to Lusaka in Zambia officially presented her letters of credence to Mrs. Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe, Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
