Appointment of the Representative of the Government of Japan to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

June 5, 2009
Japanese

At the Cabinet Meeting held on June 5, the Government of Japan decided to appoint Mr. Hideto Mitamura, Japanese Ambassador to Zambia, to be concurrently the first Representative of the Government of Japan to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). COMESA’s headquarter is located in Lusaka, Zambia.
COMESA is a regional organization with 19 Member States, mainly of Eastern and Southern Africa. COMESA was established in December 1994 with the goals to facilitate the region’s sustained development through economic integration.
COMESA addresses the issues which require regional response through holding summit meeting, ministerial council meeting and intergovernmental committee meeting, etc. In recent years, COMESA has been dealing with trade liberalization, customs procedures, transportation administration, and establishment of a secure investment climate across the region.
At the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) held in May 2008, much emphasis was placed on the importance of deepening regional integration in light of effectively promoting African development. It is expected that the appointment of the Government Representative to COMESA will strengthen Japan’s relationship with COMESA, which plays a vital role in regional integration.

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