KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo had a meeting for more than an hour with Burundian counterpart at the Palace of the Nation on Tuesday, according to the presidency. Felix Tshisekedi and Evariste Ndayishimiye later chaired the signing of four memorandums of understanding (MoU). "Our discussions therefore focused mainly on bilateral subjects but we also discussed subjects of interest to the Great Lakes Region, the East African Community," Ndayishimiye said in a series of tweets. The MOUs concern the strengthening of peace, trade relations, development of a train line between Kindu-Uvira-Bujumbura-Kitega and political and diplomatic consultations. "I am therefore happy to be in #Kinshasa and to have witnessed the signing of the agreements that will revitalize trade, social, political and diplomatic exchanges between #Burundi and #RDC,” said Ndayishimiye. “Our friendship and diplomatic ties were already excellent and strong.” The Democratic Republic of Congo Presidency said last Sunday that the visit is in line with the materialization of the will of the two leaders to strengthen excellent relations of friendship and cooperation that bind the peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, as well as the peaceful coexistence between the respective peoples. Read original article

Summary Trade information portals (TIPs) are now operational in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while it is still being developed in Burundi Arusha. Trade within the East African Community (EAC) bloc received a boost this week as Tanzania launched her Trade Information Portal. Trade Information Portals (TIPs) are now operational in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while it is still being developed in Burundi. “The portal is expected to boost intra-regional trade in East Africa as well as the region’s share in international trade,” the EAC secretariat has said. The facility was launched during the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) by Zanzibar’s Trade and Industry Development minister Said Omari Shabaan. TIPs are intended to map out all imports, exports and transit procedures, fees as well as scrapping all unnecessary bottlenecks. According to the EAC secretariat, the facility will be launched in Burundi on July 23rd while itr will be developed in South Sudan later. Speaking at the event, Mr Shabaan underscored the importance of the portal “and how it can help traders to get right and accurate information on trade”. For his part, Tantrade director general Edwin Rutageruka urged the private sector to exploit the opportunity availed by TIP. He said the micro; small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can use the facility “to grow their businesses by tapping into new markets”. EAC’s TIP Project regional coordinator Munyampundu Evariste hailed Tanzania for her efforts to facilitate trade in the region. He said the newly-launched TIP would have a positive impact on intra-EAC...

In Summary Kenya’s Principal Secretary for East Africa Community, Kevit Desai, said that the region was putting in place strategies to ensure economic recovery in all partner states. The Principal Secretary also said that the EAC budget for the Financial Year 2021/2022 will also prioritize Private Sector engagement by putting in place appropriate strategies to ensure the private sector takes an active and participatory role in the EAC integration agenda. East Africa countries will focus the 2021-2022 financial year with a focus on economic recovery through industrialization and inclusive growth following the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the region. Kenya’s Principal Secretary for East Africa Community, Kevit Desai, said that the region was putting in place strategies to ensure economic recovery in all partner states from the destructive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. “As a region, we have witnessed the devastation created within the economies of the partner states, including the fall in intra-regional trade, job losses, limited mobility within the region, and loss of lives,” said the PS. Desai, who is also the Chairperson of the Coordination Committee that brings together Permanent, Principal, Under Secretaries for EAC Affairs in the Partner States, was addressing the media at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha on Monday. Desai said that intra-regional mobility has further been hindered by the Covid-19 mitigation measures that require travellers to have valid test certificates to travel within the region and often times subjected to double testing - before departure and upon arrival at the destination...

Kenya and Tanzania manufacturers are calling for East African Community (EAC) member states to promptly resolve pending non-tariff barriers to enhance intra-trade within the region. During a trade investment forum held on Thursday hosted by Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, the industry stakeholders called for speedy resolution of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and the review of the East African Community Common External Tariff (EAC CET). Trade between Kenya and Tanzania has improved in recent years in favour of the latter and is expected to be boosted by renewed talks after a long period of hard stance. “The visit by Her Excellency the President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu heralded a new dawn, in the relationship between Kenya and Tanzania. Let us take advantage of this enhanced friendship, to resolve outstanding non-trade barriers that hinder trade between the two countries. A win for our community, means prosperity for us all,” said Dan Kazungu, Kenya’s High Commissioner to Tanzania. Kenya’s exports to Tanzania declined from Kshs. 34 billion in 2016 to Kshs. 31.6 billion in 2020 while Tanzania’s exports to Kenya grew from Kshs. 12.6 billion to Kshs. 27.6 billion in 2020. EAC Principal Secretary Dr Kevit Desai, urged traders in the region to embrace the Buy East Africa Build East Africa Initiative in order to enhance regional intra-trade “Through this initiative, governments will be more encouraged, to promote their respective local content. Additionally, it is important that all stakeholders complement each other’s...

Nairobi, July 7 (Xinhua)-East Africa needs to green its leather and textile sector to promote exports, the International Trade Center (ITC), a joint body with the World Trade Organization, said Wednesday The report published in said. United Nations. According to the report, these sectors are the most polluted and have a negative impact on the local environmental quality, especially water resources. “The international value chain and textile value chain are working together to be environmentally friendly and reduce our ecological footprint,” a report co-authored by the Kenya Manufacturers Association (KAM). Says. The ITC says that most of this change towards environmental sustainability is due to large global fashion brands that require supply chain players to comply with internationally agreed standards for wastewater and chemical management. Said it was being promoted. “For East African companies, failure to comply with these standards poses a risk of being left behind in the global supply chain, and missing export market opportunities can be costly,” the report said. The findings show that textiles and leather are promising sectors in East Africa as they can create jobs, drive innovation and economic growth, and drive exports. The report states that these sectors have also been prioritized by most governments in the region in their industry blueprints as a means of paving the way for higher incomes. UN agencies say that despite the existence of comprehensive global standards and best practices, East Africa lacks an understanding of the steps required for compliance. The report states that local policymakers,...

The National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has tasked the Federal Government with the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) so that the country could tap from the huge benefits presented by the trade agreement. The National President of NACCIMA, Ide Udeagbala, during his investiture in Aba recently, said: “This is a giant leap towards increasing intra-African trade and creating collective wealth. It is also a bold step to take Africans out of poverty. “We are delighted at the work of the National Action Committee on AfCFTA since its establishment and have been part of its sensitization activities, through the NACCIMA committee on AfCFTA”. The NACCIMA president promised that the Association will continue to push for the full implementation of the agreement and ensure that Nigerian businesses harness its full benefits. Stressing the benefits of the trade deal, he said, AfCFTA will certainly be an important strategy in its quest to ensure Nigeria’s economic influence on the continent; taking note that Nigerian businesses are already strongly rooted in many African countries. In her speech, the immediate past National President of NACCIMA, Hajiya Saratu Iya Aliyu, said that NACCIMA, as a paramount member of the economy will continue to champion the cause of business, through free enterprise, constructive competitiveness and trade facilitation. “In line with the objectives of our association, we will continue to contribute ideas for the overall stability of the nation, while promoting growth in the private sector and exploring...

The United States has, since its founding, been a beacon for free and fair trade throughout the entire world. From rejecting taxes and restrictions on trade during our colonial period under the rule of the British Crown to the power of the U.S. Navy upholding international trading routes post-World War II, our trade practices have established the long and robust groundwork so that Americans have access to goods and markets in all corners of the earth. Yet this pioneering spirit of economic liberalization has not extended fully to our engagement with Africa, a continent with which our nation has a deep and historical connection. The first country to recognize the United States as an independent nation from Britain was the North African country of Morocco –– and while thousands of miles may separate our two continents, many Americans can trace their faith and heritage back to the majestic grounds of Northern and Eastern Africa. Our two histories also acknowledge the troubling and inhumane practice of slavery. The Great Sin of slavery spread throughout the world and left behind the indelible roots of African culture, traditions, innovation, and history that have inspired and shaped the world and our country. Despite our oft-communal history with the African continent, policymakers in Washington hardly understand its peoples, cultures, and governments. Not surprisingly, this may be why we have yet to fully appreciate the growing economic and political powerhouse Africa has become. Let me throw out just a few noteworthy pieces of information: Africa represents...

By Aletha Mudyahoto- The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a true manifestation of how ideas have been transformed from ideologies into development. Officially opened in January 2021, the AfCFTA aims to create a single market, requiring member states to lift tariffs from 90% of goods inorder to promote free access to commodities, goods and services across the continent. A free trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose members have signed a free trade agreement sealing economic cooperation. AfCFTA covers trade in goods and services, investment and intellectual property rights etc. The full benefits of the AfCFTA are yet to be realised because it’s operations have been affected heavily by the persistent corona virus (covid-19) which has ravaged the whole continent, endangering economies resulting in disruption of industrial production, financial markets have become volatile, slow movement of goods and people as well as closure of borders which have slowed trade facilitation. The AfCFTA presents a crucial opportunity for regional integration, all member states are unified for a common interest of economic growth and development. The ability to successfully trade under the AfCFTA refutes the idea that Africans cannot prosper without dependency or inter- dependency on Western countries. Intra- Africa trade gives member states access to vast markets, with the removal of trade barriers countries are able to export their products and goods in many quantities and an increase in exports means an increase in domestic income and the flow of foreign currency and eventually reduction of...

Summary Mwilima toyed with the idea of making affordable and reusable sanitary towels. She found that menstrual hygiene was no isolated problem for teenagers but rather a serious dilemma facing many women in rural and urban areas. She is a full time menstrual hygiene activist, and socialpreneur. A chance meeting with a teenager suffering from dysmenorrhea commonly known as painful period pains, who also lacked hygienic sanitary towels, set off Mwanaidi Abdul Mwilima, 32, on the path of entrepreneurship. That was back in 2017 when she worked in procurement. Mwilima then toyed with the idea of making affordable and reusable sanitary towels as a way of solving a problem that is biologically natural but considered taboo even to discuss. As she struggled with how to be of help, she found that menstrual hygiene was no isolated problem for teenagers but rather a serious dilemma facing many women in rural and urban areas. There were misconceptions, taboos and lack of menstrual hygiene knowledge, making it wholly unpleasant for affected women. “I knew then that I wanted be the change I want to see. I am a strong believer in the mantra change begins with us, and not expecting someone else to be at the frontline to improve our situations, and the idea of making reusable sanitary pads was born,” says Mwilima. In 2019, she officially registered her company, Jollie, with the help of a ‘’soft’’ loan as a member of the Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce (TWCC), and bought sewing machines,...

LUANDA - The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, said on Monday that Africa will soon have a new trading standard with the development of the organization. Mene made the remarks after talks with Angolan President Joao Lourenco over issues related to challenges and development of the AfCFTA, the world's largest free trade area in terms of the number of participating countries. With trade commencing as of Jan. 1, 2021, the AfCFTA represents reality, the secretary-general said, adding that the new standard will facilitate regional trade and investment and boost continental economic integration. Mene said he was very encouraged by the commitment of the Angolan president, who has pledged to give full support to the organization's management. According to Mene, a total of 39 countries have signed and ratified the free trade zone agreement, which means they are committed to removing trade barriers and promoting integration in Africa. At the summit in Kigali, Rwanda in March 2018, 44 countries signed the agreement. A total of 54 countries have signed the agreement so far. Read original article