ARC had been cordially invited by the COMESA Secretary General to attend the 23rd COMESA Ministerial and Heads of State and Government Summit which included the 17th COMESA Business Council (CBC) forum.
The theme of this Forum was:
“Accelerating Regional Integration through the Development of Regional Value Chains in Climate Resilient Agriculture, Mining and Tourism”
The CBC Forum opened on 28th Oct. when the CBC engaged with government (represented by their ministers), and private sector leaders. At that meeting, the opening remarks of the COMESA SG pointed to the fact that the business and national development agenda in the COMESA Region cannot be achieved without deliberate recognition of the role of the private sector.
The Opening Remarks of the SG are referred to here:
The 17th CBC forum deliberation included clear appreciation by all governments and stakeholders that national and, therefore, regional development depended on strong and positive partnerships between government and the private sector. The 17th CBC Summit concluded with a Resolution and Declaration by CBC (both to be presented to the COMESA Heads of State Meeting on 31st October), which capture the spirit and commitment of the CBC towards supporting member states of COMESA to greater integration and partnership with the private sector in respect to national and regional development.
For ARC, this theme of integration and private sector engagement and partnership resonates strongly with our commitment to enable governments to take an integrative view of national and regional health sector development. It also resonates well with our commitment to supporting and enabling private-sector partnerships in the development and provision of healthcare services.
This position of the COMESA member states through the CBC is not restricted to the COMESA group; rather, the sentiment and spirit of the commitment to action reflects what other Regional Economic Communities have committed to. This position of the COMESA member states must be seen as a commitment to and call for actioning resolution to engage and partner with the private sector. For ARC, reference to this COMESA position is critical in our engagement with the government and private sector in the development of resilient national supply chain infrastructure for all health programmes and their health products.
