The link between India and Africa is a long ancient one. From centuries there has been a constant stream of people and business between the two land masses separated by the Arabian Sea. Yet in the last century, as Indian and other African countries overthrew the yolk of colonialism and moved forth, the bonds to a great extent seem to have weakened. The trade between India and Africa waned, even as China made a big foray into the African continent. It was only in the past two decade or so, when there was a realisation that the ties between the two need to be strengthened. Having realised it, the government of India took significant steps to boost trade ties, signing up MoUs with various African nations, extending line of credit, providing technological know-how, etc. The result is that the bilateral trade with the continent is up five fold in the last decades from about $12 billion in 2005-06 to $56.7 billion. India’s exports to Africa have increased from $7 billion in the same period to about $25 billion in 2015-16 and that accounts of about 9.5% of India’s total exports. Indian Imports from Africa have increased from $4.9 billion in 2005-06 to $31.7 billion in 2015-16 accounting for about 8.3% of total Indian imports. Today, India is the fifth largest country investing in Africa. The bilateral trade between Africa and India is expected to reach $117 billion by 2021. Some 34 African countries enjoy duty-free access to the Indian market....

Speaking after receiving credentials from Ambassador Dr Detlef Waechter who starts his tour of duty for Tanzania and the EAC, Ambasador Mfumukeko noted that Germany had provided generous technical and financial support to the EAC for almost two decades. He informed Dr Waechter of the significant progress made by the EAC in the four pillars of integration, namely the Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union and Political Federation, adding that the Community had made great strides in the said pillars, thanks to political goodwill by the leaders of the partner states. The Secretary General said the EAC, together with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), were at an advanced stage in the negotiations for the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) that brings together 26 countries with a market of over 600 million people. He reaffirmed EAC’s commitment to exploit its human and natural resources for the benefit of the entire region, saying that significant achievements had already been recorded in trade, customs and infrastructure development. He noted that East Africa had a big population of educated but unemployed youth, hence the way forward was for the Community to focus on modernising the agricultural sector through provision of agricultural inputs, value addition and technology. In his remarks, Dr Waechter assured the Secretary General of his country’s commitment to working closely with EAC, to enable the Community attain its objectives in the integration process. The Ambassador said Germany was keen to share with...

Trade among African countries is alive and growing, expanding to about 16 per cent in 2014 from 10 per cent in 2000, according to recent data from economists at the African Development Bank (AfDB). Despite this modest improvement, the volume of intra-Africa trade is a paltry $2 trillion when juxtaposed alongside trade between Africa and the rest of the world, which stands at a hefty $77 trillion. The reasons for this trade disequilibrium are obvious. Africa is largely disconnected from itself because of its poor infrastructure, restrictive immigration policies, corruption, failure to formalise informal trade, and unclear customs and immigration rules. Fresh facts emerging, however, suggest a slightly improving scenario. Data for 2003/14 shows that intra-African finance is a significant source of foreign investment in low-and-middle-income countries such as Burundi (79 per cent), Namibia (42 per cent), Rwanda (62 per cent), South Sudan (64 per cent) and Uganda (45 per cent). Intra-Africa tourism barely exists, but West Africa now accounts for 40 per cent of the total African, Caribbean and Pacific trade with the European Union. The 15-member nations of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) account for about 45 per cent of Africa’s trade with the rest of the world. In East Africa, Kenya’s top 10 export markets are Uganda, Tanzania, Netherlands, US, United Kingdom, Pakistan, DR Congo, UAE, South Sudan and Egypt. The five African countries here account for over 30 per cent of Kenya’s total exports. Kenya’s tea makers are, however, yet to make a serious push...

A study released by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers last month stated that Africa continues to be Kenya’s leading export destination accounting for 40.6 per cent of our exports, with the EAC community taking up 21.1 per cent of total exports in 2016. This means that our exports to the EAC accounted for slightly more than half of the total exports in Africa. However, our total export earnings last year decreased by 4.0 per cent and this could be explained by a decrease to exports in Uganda and Rwanda by 9.3 and 2.5 per cent respectively. In the past five years, we have witnessed the growth of our EAC neighbours through their efforts to industrialize and grow their economies. Kenya which has always been a trailblazer in this regard in the region, has now, at best stagnated and at worst, as I have mentioned above, lost its footing in some areas. This is a sign that we need to act fast if we want to remain a beacon and a notable investment hub in Africa. There is an urgent need to start channelling our focus towards diversifying and growing our exports in order to secure our markets. AFDB have cited that intra African trade has decreased from 18pc in 2000 to 15pc in 2015. Whilst in markets like the EU, most member states have two or three of their regional partners who account for over 50pc of their intra EU exports. With these statistics, it apparent that EAC countries have...

Regional integration is crucial for economic, political and social development and restoration of lasting peace and stability in the East Africa region, experts have said. The experts told Xinhua in Juba that efforts spearheaded by the East African regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) towards attaining free trade and movement of persons in the member countries would strengthen cooperation, development and prosperity in the region. Mehari Taddele Maru, an expert in international law and migration said if countries become inter-dependent and integrated too tightly, chances of fighting are very less because the harm will be too big. Maru, who also serves as Chief Strategist for IGAD, said one way of bringing peace in the IGAD region is through strong integration among bloc's members and through free movement. "We assume integration will make the region too much close to each other that they can't hurt each other without hurting one side. Through this, long term peace and security, stability and prosperity of the region can be ensured," Maru said at the end of consultative meeting on Friday evening. Maru urged East African countries to aspire towards integration for a more peaceful region and cooperation among countries, adding that the proposed IGAD protocol on free movement provides options for suspending its provisions during time of emergencies such as war and diseases outbreaks. James Okuk, a Lecturer of Political Science at the University of Juba, said integration will give countries strength, power and bigger voice in the whole region and also...

China’s One Belt One Road initiative (OBOR) was launched in 2013. It is designed to improve trade infrastructure beyond China’s borders in Asia and Europe. It is often overlooked, however, that OBOR also involves projects in Africa. In regard to major investments there, Julia Breuer of Ruhr-University Bochum suggests it would be more accurate to speak of “two” belts. Hotspots of Chinese infrastructure development in East Africa are Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia and Angola. In May 2017, the 472 kilometre standard gauge railway (SGR) link between the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa and Kenya’s  capital Nairobi opened. It was largely financed with Chinese money. According to Breuer’s study, Chinese-built railway links are gradually forming a network throughout East Africa. In Djibouti, for instance, the Chinese helped to finance the construction of the port  of Doraleh and made sure it was connected by railway to the important neighbour and trading partner Ethiopia – a landlocked country. A pipeline was built as well. Both Doraleh port and the 730 kilometre long railway to Addis Ababa became operational this year, according to Breuer’s study, which was recently published by Stiftung Asienhaus, a non-governmental German think tank. There are further plans to link Addis Ababa to Kenya’s SGR. That would make rail transport to South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi possible, as Breuer writes. Furthermore, China wants to revitalise the 1,900 kilometre long Tanzania-Zambia Railway which was built with Chinese help in the 1970s. Among other things, it served to transport Zambian copper...

East Africa's bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) seeks to achieve free movement of persons, goods and services among the seven member states before the end of this year, officials said Wednesday. Speaking during a national consultative meeting about the IGAD Protocol on free movement of persons in the region, Abdelrahim Ahmed Khalil, Head of IGAD Liaison Office in South Sudan, said the regional bloc has embarked on consultations with all member states to ensure that the protocol is agreed upon before the end the year. Khalil said the meeting seeks to gather information on benefits and barriers to free movement of persons in the IGAD region and also generate recommendations from the nine member countries towards accomplishment of a protocol that guarantees free movement in the region. "We have already held consultative meetings for Uganda, now we are in South Sudan and next time we are going to other countries; Ethiopia, Sudan, and Kenya, all these will be finalized hopefully before the end of this year and we have the Protocol consulted and agreed," Khalil said. The Protocol on Free Movement of Persons is aimed at promoting the regularization of the high volume of informal movement that currently takes place in the IGAD region, and is to increase the opportunities for legal mobility. Khalil said IGAD has been engaged in seeking ways to strengthen regional cooperation and free movement of persons, goods and services for the last 30 years. He added that once completed, it would promote mobility...

The world doesn’t address Africa as ‘hopeless’ continent anymore. The big nations, the multi-national companies, economists all have remolded their opinion on Africa to the next investment destination after Asia in the coming decades. A decade ago one of the leading financial magazines had called Africa as a ‘hopeless continent.’ The winds started blowing in favour of Africa in a bigger way, and 10 years later all are queueing up for Africa as it is the second fastest growing region after Asia. This trend, all believe, will continue in the foreseeable future. The World Economic Forum (WEF) in one of its reports highlighted that “Africa is home to seven of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world.” Green shoots in African economy in 2017 after a sharp decline in 2016 is a clear indication that the continent is getting back on the track. The untapped potential in the Sub-Saharan African region came to the forefront when the multi-national companies started focusing on Africa more. The sudden surge in investments in infrastructure development (road, rail and transport connectivity) from China, clubbed with conducive regulatory and policy support and regaining momentum in economy have brought Africa into the global centre stage. The advancement in economy trickles down to all segments of the business. The latest Logistics Performance Index (LPI) by the World Bank shows that the African countries have moved itself to the upward trajectory. South Africa continues to lead the pack by positioning itself at 20 in the world ranking. Countries...

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) secretary General, Sindiso Ngwenya has urged member states to fast track harmonisation of policies in the mining industry to make the sector more competitive and profitable. According to Ngenya, the sector’s potential can only be sustainably harnessed through establishment of governance structures and leveraging on the existing multinational trade agreements. Ngwenya told The New Times that sound institutional frameworks will enable COMESA’s national and sub-national governments to have a say in decisions regarding the use of the resources located in their territories including minerals if they harmonise policies regulating the sector. “Good governance underlines the sustainable exploitation of mineral resources,” Ngwenya said adding that harmonisation of national and regional mining policies will underpin sustainable and broad-based socioeconomic development in the region and Africa at large. He added that more and more types of mineral resources can be more fully tapped as COMESA countries adopt the Mining Vision of Africa. “The introduction of an appropriate policy mix and the best global mining practices in line with country specific circumstances will help institutional capacities to best market their natural resources including minerals. According to sector experts, multilateral trade agreements such as the Tripartite Free Trade Area signed by COMESA, East African Community and Southern Africa Development Community provide the necessary framework for multinational mining companies to do business. The COMESA region should therefore improve their mining policies in line with the African Mining Vision (AMV)’s principles of “transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of a country’s...

The treaty provides for Kiswahili to be developed as a lingua franca for the Community. Speaking at the closing ceremony of the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC) International Conference in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Kivejinja said there is a need for Kiswahili to be used as a tool for integrating the people of East Africa. The conference in Zanzibar brought together Kiswahili stakeholders from the region to deliberate on how the development and use of the language can creatively be used in deepening and widening EAC integration and contribute towards the realisation of sustainable development in the region. Kivejinja underscored the commitment of the Community’s leadership in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and tasked the EACK with generating proposals on how Kiswahili can be used in the achievement of these goals. “I would like, therefore, to pledge the commitment of the council of ministers in taking forward the conference resolutions. We appreciate the progress being made by the commission and will continue to guide and enable it execute its mandate,” he said. The minister noted that with more than 120 different ethnic groups in Tanzania, Kiswahili was the most efficient and effective integration tool. “I would like to pay tribute to the founders of Tanzania for discovering an important tool in the foundation of the nation,” added Kivejinja. The EAKC executive secretary, Prof. Kenneth Simala informed the participants of the conference that the commission was working closely with regional Kiswahili associations in a bid to harmonise the activities of these associations....