The term COMESA refers to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. There are currently 19 member states as shown below. The history of COMESA began in December 1994 when it was formed to replace the former Preferential Trade Area (PTA) which had existed from the earlier days of 1981. COMESA (as defined by its Treaty) was established 'as an organisation of free independent sovereign states which have agreed to co-operate in developing their natural and human resources for the good of all their people' and as such it has a wide-ranging series of objectives which necessarily include in its priorities the promotion of peace and security in the region.

However, due to COMESA's economic history and background its main focus is on the formation of a large economic and trading unit that is capable of overcoming some of the barriers that are faced by individual states.

COMESA's current strategy can thus be summed up in the phrase 'economic prosperity through regional integration'. With its 19 member states , population of over 385 million and annual import/export bill of around US$63 billion COMESA forms a major market place for both internal and external trading.

A Free Trade Area & Customs Union
The COMESA states, in implementing a free trade area , are well on their way to achieving their target of removing all internal trade tariffs and barriers, an exercise which was completed by the year 2000. The year 2004 year heralds a new dawn as the member states move towards the introduction of a Customs Union and a common external tariff structure to deal with all third party trade.

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