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EU Agrees Trade Pact With 3 Southern African Countries

BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Union Thursday signed a trade pact with Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland, leaving negotiations with four other countries in southern Africa unresolved.

The agreement aims to ensure both sides have equal access to each others' markets.

South Africa, Namibia and Angola have chosen not to sign the deal, according to the European Commission, the E.U.'s executive arm. South Africa and Angola already have deals with the E.U., allowing them to pay little or no tariffs on exports to the bloc.

Mozambique has indicated it is willing to sign the deal, but hasn't done so yet.

The E.U. is southern Africa's largest economic partner. Trade flows between the E.U. and the three countries that signed the deal and Mozambique were worth more than EUR2 billion last year, according to the commission.

Botswana's Minister for Trade and Industry Neo Moroka, in a statement, called the deal a "significant milestone in our trade negotiations." E.U. Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton deemed it a "vote of confidence" in the E.U.'s trade relations with the region.

-By Elizabeth Bewley, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 2 741 1 485; elizabeth.bewley@ dowjones.com

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  06-04-091130ET
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