The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) has signed Tuesday a cooperation agreement with the COMESA Competition Commission. The agreement aims to control the merger and acquisitions transactions in the COMESA member countries. COMESA Competition Commission acts as a body corporate responsible for promoting fair competition and penalizing uncompetitive practices in the region. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, is a free trade area with twenty member states stretching from Libya to Swaziland. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981. Nine of the member states formed a free trade area in 2000; Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with Rwanda and Burundi joining the FTA in 2004, the Comoros and Libya in 2006, and Seychelles in 2009. Upon the agreement, member countries shall notify COMESA Competition Commission of any potential merger and acquisition deals, to study their impact on the competitive environment, Mona El-Garf, Chairperson of Egyptian Competition Authority, told Amwal Al Ghad.
