PREAMBLE

WE, the Heads of State and Government or duly Authorised Representatives of, the Member States of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Partner States of the East African Community (EAC) and the Member States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), having met in Sharm El Sheikh, the Arab Republic of Egypt on 10 June 2015; 

RECALLING the Kampala Communiqué of the First Tripartite Summit of 22 October 2008 and the Memorandum of Understanding on Inter-regional Cooperation and Integration amongst COMESA, EAC and SADC;

FURTHER RECALLING the Johannesburg Communiqué of the Second Tripartite Summit of 12 June 2011 and the Declaration Launching Negotiations for the Establishment of the Tripartite Free Trade Area that was signed at that Summit;

REITERATING our solemn resolve to deepen our integration through the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area;

RECOGNISING that there are still some outstanding issues on the Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement in relation to Annex I on Elimination of Import Duties, Annex II on Trade Remedies and Annex IV on Rules of Origin which will form part of the Built-in Agenda;

COGNISANT of the critical importance of development integration that combines market integration, infrastructure development and industrial development as the three key pillars for sustainable development;

DETERMINED to contribute to the continental integration process under the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community;

REAFFIRMING the developmental integration approach built on the three pillars of industrial development, infrastructure development and market integration that was adopted at the Second Tripartite Summit; and

NOTING and appreciating the progress that has been made in Phase I of the negotiations which were launched at the Second Tripartite Summit and the outcomes of which are enshrined in the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement;

NOW THEREFORE:

1. Launch the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area;

2. Direct Member/Partner States to expedite the process towards the operationalisation of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area;

3. Direct  Member/Partner States to finalise outstanding issues on the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement in relation to Annex 1 on Elimination of Import Duties, Annex 2 on Trade Remedies and Annex 4 on Rules of Origin, which will form part of the COMESA-EAC-SADC TFTA Agreement and legal scrubbing;

4. Direct the commencement of Phase II negotiations covering trade in services, cooperation in trade and development, competition policy, intellectual property rights and cross border investments;

5. Direct that all negotiations, including outstanding work be carried out in accordance with principles, processes and institutional structures as approved by Summit; 

6. Direct the Tripartite Sectoral Ministerial Committee on Trade, Finance, Customs, Economic Matters and Home/Internal Affairs to develop a Roadmap on Phase II negotiations, providing timelines for key activities relating to the negotiations, their conclusion and the implementation of the outcomes thereof;

7. Direct that work on the Industrial and Infrastructure Pillars which are complementary to the COMESA-EAC-SADC TFTA is expedited; and

8. Further direct that work on negotiations on Movement of Business Persons continues on a separate track.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE the Heads of State and Government or duly Authorised Representatives have signed this Sharm El Sheikh Declaration Launching the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area in four original texts in the Arabic, English, French and Portuguese languages, each of the texts being equally authentic.

DONE at Sharm El Sheikh, in the Arab Republic of Egypt, on this 10th day of June in the year Two Thousand and Fifteen.