Zimbabwe takes COMESA chair as Zambia hands over land for new headquarters

Zimbabwe assumed the leadership of COMESA on Thursday as Zambia handed over land for the regional organisation’s new headquarters, bringing a change of command and an institutional commitment to a summit focused on expanding trade among African economies.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeded Kenya’s William Ruto as chairperson of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa during its 25th Heads of State and Government Summit in Harare. Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema was elected vice-chairperson of the 21-member bloc.

The meeting brought together two related ambitions: strengthening the institutions supporting regional integration and making it easier for member countries to produce, invest and trade with one another.

For Zambia, the most concrete announcement was Hichilema’s handover of the certificate of title for 14 hectares in Lusaka designated for COMESA’s future permanent headquarters. The

allocation fulfils Zambia’s commitments as host and advances a project discussed for decades.

The Secretariat is already based in Lusaka. The proposed development would therefore provide new premises in its existing host city. A construction budget and completion date were not established in the reports reviewed for this article.

Hichilema coupled the land handover with an appeal for African countries to mobilise their own resources and invest in their economies.

“Let’s invest together. Let’s produce together,” he told the summit, according to the African Press Agency.

He challenged the assumption that development capital must principally come from outside Africa, urging greater confidence in investment from within the continent.

Mnangagwa’s incoming administration at COMESA will pursue greater processing of natural resources, industrial development and participation in regional production networks. He also identified simpler trading arrangements, infrastructure financing and agricultural resilience as priorities.

Addressing leaders at the summit, he called for decisions that would strengthen the bloc’s shared economic project.

“May the decisions we make at this summit renew our resolve towards a more integrated future for a COMESA region we want,” Mnangagwa said.

Outgoing chair Ruto similarly placed regional production and commerce at the centre of his address.

“When we trade with one another, we grow together. The greatest market for Africa’s goods is Africa,” he said.

Ruto called for the removal of non-tariff barriers, improved transport and energy connections, and greater use of digital systems in regional commerce. He also urged fuller implementation of the COMESA Free Trade Area and stronger connections between national payment systems and regional platforms.

The summit launched COMESA’s 2026–2030 Medium-Term Strategic Plan, which sets a target of raising trade among members to 15 per cent of the bloc’s total trade by 2030.

The Secretariat has identified industrialisation, infrastructure connectivity, digital transformation and citizen welfare among the plan’s priorities.

Delivery will require action on obstacles that remain familiar to regional businesses: lengthy border procedures, high transport costs and differing national regulations. Those barriers continue to restrict the movement of goods across the common market the new leadership has pledged to strengthen.