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The third (3rd) Annual Meeting of the Competition Authorities of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) of Africa was held in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, and was hosted by the East African Community Competition Commission (EACC) from 22- 24 October 2025.
The meeting was graced by the representatives of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA); the East African Community Competition Authority (EACCA), and the West African Economic, Monetary Union (WAEMU), led by their respective Heads, Dr. Willard Mwemba, Dr. Simeon Koffi, Ms. Stellah Onyancha, and Mr. Melaine Tchokponhoue. The meeting which was officiated by the Deputy Secretary General for Customs Trade and Monetary Affairs of EAC Secretariat, Ms. Lilian Mukoronia was also attended by Ms. Annette Mutaawe, the Former Registrar of the EAC Competition Authority.
The annual meeting presented an opportunity for the competition authorities to discuss matters of mutual interest in regulation of competition law and consumer protection, in an effort to promote closer cooperation and collaboration at the national, regional, continental and international level.
The 3rd RECs meeting considered the adoption of the Cooperation Agreement to strengthen the collaboration and exchange of expertise in the enforcement of the competition and consumer protection within the RECs anchored in the principles of subsidiarity, complementarity, and mutual recognition.
The Cooperation Agreement institutionalized mechanisms for technical assistance and capacity building tailored to the specific needs of each REC. Cooperation was essential to enable better policy coordination, regulatory harmonization, and above all, a convergence of practices within the framework of the AfCFTA.
Some outcomes of the 3rd RECs meeting were; the finalization of the Cooperation Agreement, expected to be signed by the respective RECs, and to be followed by the development of an implementation plan to guide the effective collocation between RECs in order to achieve the objectives of the Cooperation Agreement and Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) of the Africa Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), for the development of a sector Cooperation Agreement for the enforcement of Annexes 5 and 6 of the Yamoussoukro Decision on competition and consumer protection in the air transport sector, in order to avoid jurisdictional conflicts with the RECs’ competition and consumer authorities.
ERCA re-affirmed its commitment at the RECs’ Competition Authorities Meeting to strengthening cooperation in the enforcement of the Competition Rules for the achievement of market efficiency, economic growth and integration in West Africa, in line the with the Supplementary Acts and the fundamental objectives of ECOWAS.