afrol News, 23 October - An extraordinary summit by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) today reached a breakthrough in preparing for a regional free trade zone and common free market. With three new signatory nations to the SADC economic harmonising protocol, it is now set to be implemented.

SADC state leaders today met in Midrand outside Johannesburg (South Africa), at an extraordinary summit themed "Economic Integration of SADC". According to South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the intention of the summit was to set up a "task force of ministers" responsible for economy, to speed up "SADC's regional economic integration agenda," with a special emphasis on achieving the regional Free Trade Area and SADC Customs Union.

According to Lesotho's Prime Minister and current SADC chairman, Pakalitha Mosisili, the summit indeed was a breakthrough for the set-up of a regional unitary market. Botswana's President Festus Mogae, Swaziland's Prime Minister Absalom Themba Dlamini and Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe today had signed the protocol on SADC economic harmonisation.

With these three new signatories, the protocol enters into force, as a total of ten countries now have agreed to it - nine would have been necessary. In August, Congo Kinshasa, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania had signed the protocol.

The economic harmonisation is a key preamble to establish a unitary market and a free trade zone in the region. "It would appear that the region is on course for the establishment of a Free Trade Area by 2008," Lesotho's PM also concluded after today's summit.

The Free Trade Area is supposed to be followed by the establishment a SADC customs union by 2010, a common market by 2015 and economic and monetary union by 2018, according to the current timetable. The first step, however will be harmonising finance, investment and other macroeconomic policies in Southern Africa.

By staff writer

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