He also called on the business community to be involved in COMESA affairs as they were major strides made in transport and infrastructure development, and forge closer linkages to enable trade in a friendly atmosphere.
The Vice-President also challenged COMESA member countries to take better advantages of such preferential trade arrangements by making concerted efforts to address supply side constraints that inhibited the countries from accruing the due benefits.
He said there was need for COMESA to tackle the issues of free movement of people so that citizens made the right choices on where they could best make their contributions to regional development.
Mr Banda said intra-COMESA trade had trebled from US$2.5 billion in 2000 to nearly US$7.0 billion this year and described the phenomenal as a great achievement.
He said the customs union would be launched before the end of the month.
Mr Banda said COMESA also played a key role in the activities under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in particular and co-ordinated the Eastern and Central African components of the comprehensive agriculture programmes.
"COMESA is certainly the biggest single economic block in Africa representing 19 countries. The diversity and size of COMESA is also its strength. This is an idea that all Africans should embrace and should work towards achieving," he said.
COMESA secretary general Erastus Mwencha said Zambia viewed COMESA as the most viable vehicle with which to deliver meaningful and sustainable development to the people in the region.
Mr Mwencha said one of the six objects of COMESA as enshrined in the treaty was to contribute towards the establishment of the African economic community.
Source: The Times of Zambia
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