Regional Institutions

Africa presents a diversified picture in terms of both degree and forms of integration. There is a multiplicity of regional organizations which are sometimes overlapping. Broadly speaking, the existing activities in Africa are being developed in four main sub-regions, namely; Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. In West Africa, both the common external tariff of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the free trade area of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) became effective in 2000. In recent years, the WAEMU Commission and the Executive Secretariat of ECOWAS have intensified their cooperation. In Central Africa, the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States (CEMAC) has formalized a regional customs union. Also, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has launched a free trade area, with a view to establishing a full customs union in the near future. The Treaty re-establishing the East African Community (EAC) was signed in November 1999, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is currently moving towards the effective establishment of a free trade area.