Ruto hands over Comesa chairmanship to Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa

President William Ruto has handed over the chairmanship of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) during the bloc’s 25th summit in Harare, expressing confidence that the new leadership will translate the bloc’s ambitions into tangible progress and investments that citizens can see and feel. Accepting the leadership mandate, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa commended Ruto’s focus on digitisation and outlined Zimbabwe’s priorities, including fast-tracking natural resource beneficiation, developing agro-processing industrial parks and climate-proofing agriculture to enhance regional food security. Leaders from the bloc’s 21 member states are focused on developing strategies to eliminate cross-border trade barriers, expand intra-African trade and promote inclusive regional economic integration.