Agriculture plays a crucial role in trade and regional integration and remains an important sector in sustaining most economies of COMESA member states. 60 per cent of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods and employment. However, agricultural potential in the COMESA region continues to be immensely unrealized. 

This meeting focused on the importance of strengthening and enhancing the negotiating capacity of government officials in charge of negotiating and/or drafting agricultural investment contracts in Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and East African Community (EAC) member states.

This meeting provided an opportunity to engage and provide a platform for dialogue among the negotiators and develop concrete and practical legal and policy tools for them on how to better integrate legal and policy options for FDI in agriculture.

For more information, see the agenda and background document below.