Minister of Trade and Export Development, Kalthoum Ben Rejeb said the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a space for boosting investment and cooperation. In a presentation before the Industry, Trade, Natural Resources and Energy Committee on Wednesday, which ended with the adoption of the draft agreement on the hosting of meetings, workshops and activities of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in Tunisia, Ben Rejeb pointed out that Tunisia ranks fifth in the list of exporting countries, with a share of 6.6%, and that the majority of its exports go to Libya and Egypt. COMESA is an organisation of 21 countries grouped in a free trade area, one of the eight inter-regional economic groupings recognised by the African Union, whose secretariat is based in the Zambian capital, Lusaka. Ben Rejeb pointed out that signatory countries benefit from tariff reductions and numerous other facilities, such as the facilitation of transactions, total exemption from all customs duties, levies and taxes on the import of goods, particularly fishery products and handicrafts. Tunisia's main exports to COMESA are construction materials, vegetable and animal oils, foodstuffs and electrical equipment, according to data from the Ministry. Ben Rejeb added that the Convention offered an opportunity to stimulate private investment and create new spaces to strengthen Tunisia's external presence and influence, as well as to support Tunisia's presence in various economic activities. Most members of the Committee stressed the importance of the procedures and facilities mentioned in the Convention for the Tunisian economy in general and for the private sector in particular, in terms of investment and support for interregional trade in various national products. They highlighted stressed the need to speed up the ratification and reactivation of the Convention, focusing on the import of basic products needed by Tunisian industry, as well as the revision of several trade agreements. Some MPs spok e of the need to be well prepared in terms of export infrastructure, commercial ports, border crossings, roads and railways, not forgetting the revision of legislation and guaranteeing the presence of Tunisian banks on African markets. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse