EU, Four African Island States Conclude Landmark Free Trade Agreement

June 13, 2026

Mintesinot Nigussie

The European Union and four Eastern and Southern African island economies have concluded negotiations on an expanded free trade agreement that broadens cooperation beyond goods to include services, investment, digital trade and industrial development.

The agreement involves the European Union and Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles, following a joint statement signed in Balaclava confirming the completion of talks.

Officials said the parties are now aligned on the negotiated outcomes and will proceed to legal review, formal signing and ratification before the agreement enters into force.

The deal builds on the existing interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the two sides, signed in 2009 and implemented in 2012, which already provides duty-free and quota-free access for exports from the four countries into the EU market. Comoros joined the arrangement in 2019.

The upgraded framework is designed to deepen economic integration by expanding coverage into services trade, investment flows, digital commerce and sector-specific cooperation. It also includes provisions aimed at encouraging local processing, industrial transformation and value addition across participating economies.

Negotiations on the expanded agreement were launched in Balaclava in October 2019, making the conclusion at the same venue on June 10, 2026 a symbolic endpoint to seven years of talks.

The parties will now undertake legal scrubbing of the text before completing domestic approval procedures required for ratification.

Officials from Seychelles said their delegation included Minister Veronique Laporte, Ambassador Kenneth Racombo, Principal Secretary Natalie Edmond, Director General Ricky Barbe and Principal Trade Officer Aissata Dia.