Egypt expects new African trade bloc in December: minister

Three African economic blocs will merge into a new 27-nation free-trade zone under an agreement to be signed in Cairo next month, uniting markets worth 58 percent of the continent's economic activity, Egypt's industry and trade minister said.

The deal will combine the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the South African Development Community (SADC), and the East African Community (EAC).

Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said Cairo is also pursuing trade agreements with the Eurasian Economic Community and the South American trade bloc Mercosur in order to win back foreign investors who left Egypt due to the political turmoil that began with a popular uprising in 2011.