Principal Objectives: The objective of this study is to detect the relation between Exhibitions and the development of commercial relations between Egypt and African countries during the study period 1998-2009. The Case Study: COMESA - the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa is the case study. The following 19 countries are members of COMESA: Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. COMESA was formed in 1994, replacing the Preferential Trade Area that had been in place since the early 80s. Together, these countries have a combined population of about 450 million people and a combined gross domestic product of about USD560 Billion, constituting a huge market for investment, with the highest rate of return on investment in the world. Hypothesis: (1) The growth in Exhibitions activity can be largely attributed to their central role in economic restructuring. (2) There is a strong concentration of Exhibitions activity in the economically leading countries and their major urban agglomeration with backward and peripheral counties and regions scuffing severe disadvantages due to the lack of Exhibitions activity. (3) The distribution of Exhibitions activity is correlated with the; economic strength; industrial production; innovativeness of countries and regions, as well as size; and accessibility of urban areas and agglomerations. (4) The spatial range of Exhibitions activity has increased considerably over the time. Key Questions That Have Been Determined for This Study: (5) What is the concept of trade Exhibitions? (6) What are the approaches for the trade exhibitions classification? (7) What are the developmental dimensions of trade exhibitions? (8) What are the determinants of the exhibitions intensity in and out the Political Boundaries of countries? (9) What is the state of the Egyptian commercial relations with both of Africa and COMESA during the period 1998-2009? (10) And, what is the expected role of exhibitions in the development of commercial relations between Egypt and African countries? Thesis Structure: To achieve the above mentioned target, the study is divided into three chapters, the first entitled "Development of the exhibitions Industry in Egypt Since 1980." The second chapter entitled "The Distribution and the determinants of the Egyptian exhibitions intensity in Africa: Case study is COMESA since 1998." And The third chapter entitled "The relationship between the Egyptian exhibitions and the development of commercial relations with Africa: Case study is COMESA since 1998." Methodology: The study obtaining its main data from the General Organization for International Exhibitions and Fairs, the General Organization for Conventions Centers, relevant bodies of fairs and foreign trade in the African Countries, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), International Exhibitions Bureau, The Exhibition and Event Association of Southern Africa, United Nations statistics, Economic Commission for Africa, Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, COMESA Secretariat, International Trade Point, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Egypt
