Letters of credit (L/Cs) may soon become available within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) following a series of groundbreaking resolutions by the grouping of African nations.

The 13th COMESA summit in Zimbabwe culminated in the launch of the long awaited customs union and resolved to introduce a raft of measures meant to boost trade among member countries, create jobs and alleviate poverty.

Clearing house

The COMESA Clearing House - to be located in Zimbabwe - will provide a regional payment system that will allow African countries to trade without going abroad for L/C confirmation.

Currently, L/Cs within the trading bloc are routinely confirmed in London and New York. COMESA hopes the new arrangements will save Africa millions of US dollars and make payments to foreign suppliers much simpler.

Single market

The launch of the long-awaited customs union aims to facilitate Africa's largest trading bloc's growth beyond a free trade area and establishes the foundations for a single market.

COMESA is mainly comprised of southern and eastern African countries but extends to Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti.

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