On October 19, 2023, Angola implemented the agreement creating the tripartite free trade area among the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

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This agreement was established on October 22, 2008, in Kampala, Uganda, with Angola signing it on June 10, 2015, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

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The objectives of the Tripartite Agreement include promoting economic and social development in the region, creating a common market with the free movement of goods and services, and building a strong tripartite free trade area for the benefit of the people in the region. To achieve these goals, measures are taken to eliminate trade barriers, liberalize service trade, and foster cooperation among member states.

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It is crucial to highlight that the Tripartite Agreement stipulates that member states will grant each other Most-Favored-Nation Treatment. This implies that if any member state establishes new preferential agreements with third countries, similar benefits must be reciprocated to other member states.

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Various provisions in the Tripartite Agreement aim to facilitate business transactions among member states by eliminating the imposition of new import duties, non-tariff barriers, and quantitative restrictions, as long as they do not contradict the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Safeguards.

Other noteworthy aspects include the creation of special economic zones, cooperation in trade policies, research, and statistics, as well as the establishment of safeguard measures, without excluding the adoption of anti-dumping measures by member states.

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The transposition of this Agreement into Angola's domestic law is expected to contribute to the effective implementation of the Agreement and the establishment of a tripartite free trade area and common market for the East and Southern Africa region in the coming year