LUSAKA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Wednesday hailed the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) for the regional bloc's decision to award the hosting of its 20th Head of State and Government Summit to Lusaka, the Zambian capital.

The summit, to be held on July 18 and 19, but will be preceded by meetings of ministers and technical officials starting from July 9, was initially supposed to be held in Rwanda.

Chief Government Spokesperson Dora Siliya said hosting the summit of such magnitude comes with economic benefits for the country and that the government was happy that the regional bloc has picked Lusaka.

She said the hosting of the event will help cement Zambia's position in the southern African region as it tries to benefit more from the free trading arrangement by getting a larger share of the market.

She further said the hosting of the summit comes at an opportune time when the government has approved the National Trade Policy aimed at transforming the country from an exporter of primary goods to an exporter of value added products.

The summit will be held under the theme "COMESA: Towards Digital Economic Integration."