President William Ruto hands over the instrumeents of power to the incoming Comesa chairperson President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare, October 22, 2026. /SCREENGRAB

Kenya has officially handed over the chairmanship of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to Zimbabwe during the bloc’s 25th summit in Harare on Thursday.

President William Ruto handed over the instruments of power to his successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, marking the end of his year-long leadership of the regional economic bloc.

Ruto took over the chairmanship during the 24th Comesa summit held in Nairobi on October 9, 2025.

“As I hand over the chair, I do so with full confidence in my brother, President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Under his stewardship and with the support of every member state, I trust that we will turn the ambition of one market, one future into progress our people can see and feel,” Ruto said.

He said the vision could be achieved if member states produced more, invested more and traded more within the region, while engaging the rest of the world on equal terms and speaking with one voice.

“In doing so, we will advance not only the aspirations of Comesa but also the vision of Agenda 2063 — an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa,” he said.

Ruto challenged member states not to compromise in global trade partnerships, saying they should demand equal treatment rather than special favours.

“Africa does not come to sit at the edge of the table; it comes to set up the table as an equal partner,” he said.

In his acceptance speech, Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was ready to work with all member states as the bloc consolidated the gains made so far.

The summit’s theme, One Market, One Future: Advancing Inclusive Industrialisation, Investment and Regional Integration in Comesa , captured the bloc’s ambitions, Mnangagwa said.

“It is a call to harness the region’s resources and investment potential to accelerate modernisation and industrialisation towards a higher quality of life for all our citizens,” he said.

He said the common market should enable enterprises to produce at scale, facilitate the cross-border movement of factors of production and reach new customers.

“The future we envision requires every member state to contribute to and benefit from our collective progress,” he said.

Mnangagwa challenged member states to align their actions with the summit’s theme and the organisation’s founding principles.

The summit also witnessed the rollout of the Comesa Medium-Term Strategic Plan (MTSP) 2026–2030.

Comesa was established to succeed the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) and accelerate regional economic integration, trade liberalisation and development across Eastern and Southern Africa.

The bloc seeks to promote intra-regional trade by addressing tariffs, quotas and non-tariff barriers among member states.

By integrating their economies, members aim to create a larger, more competitive single market and reduce reliance on external markets.