KENYA: Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki tells a summit of African leaders that the continent needs a customs union

Record ID: 362034

  • Title: KENYA: Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki tells a summit of African leaders that the continent needs a customs union
  • Date: 22nd May 2007
  • Summary: (BN10) NAIROBI, KENYA (MAY22,2007) (REUTERS) UNITED NATIONS OFFICES IN NAIROBI VARIOUS OF FLAGS KENYAN PRESIDENT MWAI KIBAKI ARRIVING ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT ROBERT MUGABE ARRIVING COMESA BANNER ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER MELES ZENAWI ARRIVING RWANDAN PRESIDENT PAUL KAGAME ARRIVING JOURNALISTS
  • Embargoed: 6th June 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Economic News
  • Reuters ID: LVA4O0SC3IHD2BJFFMZR63P05LCY
  • Story Text: President Mwai Kibaki called on Africa's biggest trading bloc COMESA on Tuesday (May 22) to extend talks with other regional economic groupings to create a customs union for the continent.
    In a speech opening a summit in Nairobi of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Kibaki said Kenya had taken over the chairmanship of group at a crucial moment "when we have made a major step forward in the journey towards establishing a customs union".
    He made it clear that harmonisation of projects and programmes was important in view of talks in progress with the European Union and the World Trade Organisation.
    Regional leaders attending the summit included presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia, Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zinawi, Sudanese Vice-President Salva Kiir and King Mswati of Swaziland.
    Heads of state and delegates representing 20 countries and more than 400 million people were expected to endorse COMESA's plans to launch its own customs union in 2008 at the end of the two-day summit
    UH/AD
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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