The 16th International Trade Fair was opened by His Excellency Dr. Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, Prime Minister of Rwanda, on 25th July 2013 at Gikondo Expo Ground. The Prime Minster in his opening speech said that the 2013 International Trade Fair is a good opportunity for local manufacturers to learn from other countries and improve their products in order to be more competitive. He reiterated that the COMESA manufacturing sector shall be promoted through linking business to the COMESA market of 440 million consumers.
The theme of this 16th International trade fair is "linking businesses to markets; promoting the manufacturing sector in the COMESA region".
Over 21 countries from Africa, Asia and middle east participated in this trade fair; COMESA-LLPI sponsored (partially) the participation of 8 companies drawn from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
The 1st COMESA Manufacturers Regional Dialogue, organized by the COMESA Business Council, was also held in Kigali, Rwanda for 2 days prior to the opening of the Fair. Experts, Manufacturers’ Associations and Manufacturers from the COMESA Region and representatives on International Partner Organizations participated in the two days Dialogue.
The theme of the dialogue was "Linking businesses to markets; Unlocking the potential of the manufacturing sector in the COMESA Region". More than 10 discussion papers were presented and panel discussions and adoption of recommendation were made.
COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute (COMESA-LLPI) was represented by two of its Experts, Mr Nicholas Mudungwe, Cluster Expert, and Dr.Mekonnen Hailemariam, Leather Value Chain Information Expert. Mr Nicholas Mudungwe presented a paper entitled “Unleashing the Potential of the COMESA Leather Value Chain: the Cluster Approach.