The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) will convene the Tripartite Youth and Women Trade Policy Dialogue Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, from 20th to 21st May 2026. The Forum is held under the theme “From Participation to Prosperity: A Policy Dialogue on Youth and Women in Agribusiness and Cross-Border Trade”, as a side event leading up to the Tripartite Summit of Heads of State and Government.
Under the Tripartite Simplified Trade Regime (TSTR) project, COMESA, EAC and SADC are required to promote inclusive implementation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) with particular focus on youth and women engaged in agribusiness and small-scale cross-border trade.
Therefore, the Forum aims to sensitise youth and women traders on the Tripartite Free Trade Area and the Tripartite Simplified Trade Regime (TSTR), strengthen practical capacities for cross-border trade and agribusiness, and facilitate structured dialogue between youth traders and policymakers. Importantly, the Forum will culminate in the adoption of a Tripartite Youth and Women Trade Declaration that will be presented to appropriate policy organs of the tripartite.
The Tripartite Free Trade Area represents a strategic framework for deepening regional integration through trade facilitation, market integration, and inclusive economic growth. Central to the sustainability and impact of the TFTA is the meaningful participation of youth and women traders, particularly those involved in agribusiness and small-scale cross-border trade.
The meeting will bring together youth and women traders from the 14 Tripartite Member States that have ratified the Tripartite Free Trade Area with a deliberate bias towards agribusiness and informal cross-border trade, as well as officials from trade, customs, and representatives from COMESA, EAC, SADC, and Development Cooperating Partners.
