Kenya hosts COMESA Investment workshop

By Victoria Njeri (PCO)

The Government is committed to strengthening investment policy coordination across the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region based on the revised Common Investment Area (CCIA) Agreement.

 During a high-level regional validation workshop that brought together delegates from 17 COMESA member states, technical experts and representatives from international development partners, Principal Secretary for Investment Promotion, Abubakar Hassan Abubakar, underscored the importance of the CCIA agreement in fostering a unified and investor-friendly environment that responds to the region’s development needs.

The meeting aimed to finalize the revised CCIA agreement which as a regional framework designed to promote, protect and facilitate investment within COMESA’s 21-member bloc.

“This workshop is not merely a procedural review. It is a defining moment in our regional economic integration agenda. Through the CCIA Agreement, we are laying the groundwork for a comprehensive investment ecosystem that not only attracts capital but sustains it,” PS Abubakar said when he officially opened the workshop.

The revised agreement, initially adopted in 2007, has undergone substantial updates to reflect emerging global investment trends and alignment with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Investment Protocol. The review process included a legal gap assessment, benchmarks against continental and global frameworks and national stakeholders’ consultations in member states.

Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Kadah, Assistant Secretary General for Programmes at the COMESA Secretariat, thanked development partners for supporting the review process.

He singled out the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) for technical support. The CCIA Agreement affirmed COMESA’s commitment to creating a stable and conducive investment environment that attracts both regional and international capital flows.

Dr. Kadah highlighted significant challenges that hinder Africa from attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

According to the 2024 UNCTAD Investment Report, the Continent’s global share of FDI remains at a low of 4 to 5 per cent. The total FDI inflows into Africa dropped from USD54 million in 2022 (Sh6.9 trillion) to USD53 million (Sh6.8 trillion) in 2023.

Within the COMESA region, FDI declined significantly from USD23.4 million (Sh3 billion) in 2022 to USD18.7 million (Sh2.4 billion.) in 2023, as per COMESA’s own statistics.

This downward trend was attributed to a combination of factors, including political instability, regulatory uncertainty, high costs of doing business, restrictive financing conditions and weak governance frameworks.

The revised CCIA is expected to address these challenges through harmonised investment rules, enhanced policy transparency and stronger legal protections for investors.

PS Abubakar urged member states to shift from competing against each other to collaborating with each other, stressing that regional complementarity in investment promotion would be more effective in achieving shared prosperity.

He noted that Kenya supports the revised agreement because of a transparent, participatory and inclusive process that included national consultations and feedback from all relevant stakeholders.

Delegates attending the Nairobi workshop represent Eswatini, Madagascar, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Djibouti, Tunisia, Mauritius, Somalia, Egypt, Malawi, Sudan, Uganda, Mauritius, Burundi, Rwanda and Kenya.

The outcomes of the workshop will be presented for consideration at the forthcoming 24th COMESA Summit of Heads of State and Government scheduled to be held in Nairobi later this year.

Kenya will be hosting of the 2025 Summit in October following a formal offer by the government and comes at a time when the country is poised to take up a leadership role within the COMESA bloc.

During the 23rd Summit held in Burundi, member states appointed Kenya as Vice Chair in line with COMESA’s rotational leadership tradition.

This positions President William Ruto to assume full Chairmanship of COMESA during the summit, succeeding Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye.

The PS reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to regional cooperation and economic integration, describing the upcoming summit as a strategic opportunity for the country to shape the region’s trade and investment trajectory.

During the workshop, participants consolidated input on the revised agreement and proposed actionable strategies to enhance investment attractiveness across COMESA.