Under the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme, funded by the European Union (EU), the World Customs Organization (WCO) provided financial and technical support to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) for its 19th Technical Working Group (TWG) on Rules of Origin (RoO), held from 13 to 16 May 2025 in Mombasa, Kenya.
The meeting was convened to advance deliberations on issues identified during previous TWG sessions and to continue the comprehensive review of the COMESA RoO. This review aims to ensure that the COMESA RoO framework remains aligned with economic realities and effectively responds to Member States' needs for integration in regional and continental value chains. In this regard, a key focus area included exploring the potential alignment of the COMESA RoO with the RoO of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The meeting notably discussed the modalities for possible cumulation between the two free trade areas (FTAs).
Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Kadah, Assistant Secretary General (Programmes) of COMESA, officially opened the meeting, expressing appreciation for the continued support provided by the WCO and the EU under the Programme. He extended gratitude to the Kenya Revenue Authority for hosting the meeting at the WCO Regional Training Centre for Eastern and Southern Africa in Mombasa. Dr. Kadah emphasised that RoO serve as an essential mechanism for benefit enjoyment under FTAs, highlighting the imperative for these rules to be pragmatic, efficient and reflective of businesses’ everyday realities. He noted that RoO should function as catalysts for promoting industrialisation, value addition and the development of regional value chains.
Recalling the functions of administrative requirements in market integration, the meeting's agenda encompassed reviewing proposed amendments to the COMESA RoO Protocol and discussing critical implementation aspects of regional provisions, including the electronic certificate of origin, self-certificate of origin, and approved exporter systems. Participants also examined the COMESA RoO compared to the AfCFTA RoO framework and reviewed outcomes and recommendations from the joint WCO-COMESA workshop on cumulation held from 22 to 24 April 2025.
The meeting brought together over 45 Customs and trade experts from COMESA Member States, including representatives from Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, alongside officials from the COMESA Secretariat.
For further information, please contact EU-WCORoOAfrica.Program@wcoomd.org