COMESA Secretary General, Sindiso Ngwenya, on Wednesday received Letters of Credence from the Finnish Ambassador to Zambia and now COMESA Permanent Representative, Ambassador Pertti Anttinen, at his office at the Secretariat.
Speaking at the occasion, Ambassador Anttinen said that deepening regional integration will bring about improvement in the living standards of the people in the region through increased trade, jobs and business opportunities.
“The fact that intra-COMESA trade has tripled in the past decade and weathered quiet well the impact of the global crisis in the process, is just an indicator of true integration potential.”
“My country shares your view that the utilisation of appropriate technologies and deployment of modern innovation practices is necessary for expedited economic and industrial development. And as we have indicated earlier, we acknowledge and appreciate the high priority that COMESA accords to the swift and effective implementation of the STI programme,” he said.
He added that Finland will continue to intensify her co-operation with COMESA in support of regional integration given that his country is now quiet advanced in establishing the scope of the potential co-operation in the field of science, technology and innovation.
Mr Ngwenya pointed out that COMESA’s major challenge in the integration agenda is the deepening of market integration, infrastructure and industrial development.
He said that it is essential that COMESA development goals are achieved through value addition, diversification, harnessing science and technology; and accelerating economic growth and transformation if livings standards of the people in the region are to be improved.
“Your Excellency, as you know, already we have a consultant sent by your government to explore areas of cooperation with us. We look forward to seeing the consultant’s report in order to develop programmes and co-operation in the area of ICT,” he said.
He added that the COMESA region stands to benefit from the major firms in telecommunications like Nokia; electronics, X-ray machines like Planmeca; instruments, metal working and forestry; meteorology and climate measurement systems like Vaisala, and construction like Poyry.
“Your Excellency, COMESA already has institutions which could effectively co-operate with Finland in various areas and these include the Development Fund, the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Infrastructure Master Plan; and your provision of technical and financial support to the infrastructure project preparatory ad implementation unit, especially in energy, roads and ports”, Mr Ngwenya said.
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