ARUSHA, Tanzania, 22 September 2015 / PRN Africa / — Relations between India and the East African Community are set to be revitalized especially in the areas of trade, cultural exchange and development cooperation. India's High Commissioner to Tanzania and Representative to the EAC, Mr. Sandeep Arya, said his country was keen on strengthening trade and cultural ties with the EAC which date back several centuries. Mr. Arya said India already had bilateral projects in most of the EAC Partner States particularly health and agriculture, adding that they wanted to partner with the EAC to boost trade volumes and promoting industrial growth in East Africa. Mr. Arya said he would work closely with the Confederation of Indian Industries and the Indian Exim Bank in these initiatives, noting that these partnerships should for a start be between these two institutions and the East African Development Bank and the East African Business Council. Mr. Arya was speaking after presenting his credentials to the EAC Secretary General, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera, at the EAC Secretariat in Arusha, Tanzania. Dr. Sezibera thanked India for its support to the Partner States singling out the scholarships granted to students from the Partner States to study in India. Dr. Sezibera also cited the support granted to the Community by India in the preparation of the East African Railways Master Plan the implementation of which he said would revolutionize the transport sector in the region. He disclosed that that one of the challenges faced by the EAC in...

TRADE Mark East Africa (TMA) has pledged to support Tanzania to capitalise on its comparative advantage on rice production by increasing sales of the commodity in the regional markets. The TMA Country Director, Dr Josephat Kweka, said in Dar es Salaam at the high level policy dialogue for rice value chain stakeholders in the EAC Common Market that although Tanzania leads in rice production it was still not able to take advantage of the readily available markets in neighboring countries. It is estimated that 18 per cent of farming households grow rice and the economic activity in the rice sector contributes to 2.66 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The country currently produces about 1.40 million tonnes of rice; grown mainly by small scale farmers. The theme of the conference was the National and Regional Policy Measures for Development of Rice Value Chain in the Context of Opportunities in the EAC Common Market. Dr Kweka said TMA was ready to partner with other stakeholders in implementing recommendations arising from the meeting. “This country is not short of policies and strategies, what is needed are actions and we are ready to partner in this important endeavor,” he said. The conference was organized by TMA and Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) and attended by members of the private and public sector from within EA countries. He said TMA was in the middle of programming its five -year second phase of operation that will start in January 2017 which will...

The first week of September saw Kampala inundated with pomp and colour as road show trucks criss-crossed the city, promoting awareness of the East African Community (EAC). We were puzzled. Puzzled because either are two parallel initiatives at EAC integration awareness, or a duplication of effort and resources. This is because we had just entered the city from the western axis, having completed the first leg of the Uganda Component in the on-going Integration for Development campaign across the five Partner States of the EAC. Spearheaded by the East African Business Council, the campaign is the exploratory phase of the implementation strategy for the East African Agriculture and Rural Development Programme. The focus of the programme is organic agriculture, based on the smallholder farmer as the unit of production. And so it was that in Uganda, over the month of August, this initiative had been piloted with two projects in western region. These are among the hundreds already mapped across the country, with target of each rural home earning a minimum of Shs3,000,000 per month through exporting high quality organic foodstuffs and related natural resources. We grew up knowing the Nyakagyera Wonder Water by its strange genesis, namely the water of the Bachwezi. This is a natural ‘stream’ hidden in a wooded gulley between two hills below Katooma Primary School, in Rugaaga Sub-county, Isingiro District. And for decades, it has been one of the sources of domestic water during the dry season. However, since March 2015, this ‘drip’ of a...

The East Africa Farmers Federation is urging East African Community member countries to harmonize laws on management of natural resources. The Federation’s CEO, Stephen Muchiri says deforestation is negatively affecting agriculture which is a key sector that supports the region’s economy. Forestry is viewed as one of the most important sectors globally. In the East African region about 22 percent of the total land area excluding water bodies, is under natural forest. In sub-Saharan Africa about 65% of the total land area is being degraded due to deforestation, which is affecting important sectors such as agriculture and tourism. It is in light of this that EAC member countries have been asked to harmonize relevant laws in the management of forests and natural resources. Muchiri however blamed farmers for not conserving forests around them in their pursuit for sources of fuel. The concerns were raised during a two day meeting organized by Eastern Africa Farmers Federation, Center for International Forestry Research and the East African Legislative Assembly to oversee amendments of some clauses in the EAC Forest Management and Protection Bill 2015. Source: KBC

This multi-stakeholder dialogue will engage some of the region’s most influential policymakers and private sector actors and we believe that your participation and insights will help us generate a meaningful and impactful discussion on the future opportunities for deeper and wider integration as a tool for enhancing economic development and fostering sustainable development. Today, East African countries integration efforts are at a crucial juncture. The region is facing a complex web of closely interlinked and overlapping trade integration opportunities at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level, with a variety of partners. On the one hand, efforts towards increased convergence among existing regional integration process such as EAC, SADC and COMESA in the context of the TFTA and subsequently the CFTA initiative, raise significant complexities but also an enormous potential to unleash major economic gains. On the other hand, East Africa is developing significant trade and investment relationships with rapidly growing emerging economies such as India or China. The region also maintains close links with large traditional trading partners albeit through somehow more asymmetrical relations. Finally, East Africa needs to position itself vis-à-vis recent trends towards the negotiations of so-called mega-regional initiatives outside the continent such as the TPP, TTIP or RCEP. This event will provide a space for an open and interactive dialogue among key stakeholders including policymakers, experts, private sector actors and representatives from IGOs and RECs on the opportunities that enhanced trade integration, at the regional, continental, and global levels, can bring in terms of achieving of sustainable...

Lack of knowledge on international trade remains one of the key challenges facing local entrepreneurs, especially the youths, the Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce (TWCC), director Fatma Riami has observed. Speaking during a two days meeting for female traders from eleven regions bordering other countries, she noted that most youths fail to trade across the border due to limited knowledge on legal procedures. “In most cases they use unregulated routes and upon arrest, they end up paying twice the amount spent on buying or abandon the goods all together” she said. The TWCC boss noted that some youths who have been enlightened on the rightful procedures have attested that if one follows the requirements, cross border trade is quite easy. She urged over sixty female young entrepreneurs from the eleven regions that converged here to freely share challenges they face at the border points as they sell or buy goods in other countries. The director noted that authorities involved at the border points like the Customs and Immigration department have clearly stipulated the law and simplified the process to enable local traders access international markets easily. Speaking while officiating the meeting, Clara Ibihya, TWCC board member said youths especially women need the knowledge on trade to better their lives. She noted that women in the country have for a long time been sidelined in development activities and have suffered under men dominated culture, thus youths need to wake up and change the trend. “Every one target the youths even in...

The East African Business Council (EABC) and Innovation Norway have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing to work together on various priority areas on trade. The MoU was signed, yesterday, by Innovation Norway's chief executive Anita Krohn Traaseth and EABC chair Denis Karera, in a ceremony witnessed by the Norwegian Minister for Trade and Industry, Monica Maeland, and the Secretary General of the East African Community, Richard Sezibera, at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. Innovation Norway is the Norwegian government's instrument for innovation and development of Norwegian enterprises and industry. The agency supports companies in developing their competitive advantage and to enhance innovation. Under the five-year deal, EABC and Innovation Norway will work together on trade facilitation; joint activities that are beneficial to both institutions, including conferences, trade missions; and business to business engagement both in EAC, and Norway and other Nordic countries. According to a statement, some of the main areas of cooperation will be in the petroleum and education sectors with the latter focusing on the information and communication technology sector. The two parties further agreed to increase market access through information sharing; promote investment in both regions, as well as capacity building and technical assistance. Earlier on, Norwegian minister Maeland, and Sezibera held bilateral talks on possible areas of cooperation between Norway and the EAC. The talks focused on the upcoming negotiations between the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) and the EAC. Sezibera informed Maeland that the EAC Council of Ministers was quite positive about...

MEMBERS of the private sector and the government have been advised to consult each other and see how they can solve challenges that impede Tanzania to take advantage of the readily rice market in the East African countries. A Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) consultant, Dr Halima Noor, told a news conference during a high level policy dialogue for rice value chain stakeholders that Tanzania was not utilising her potential in producing and selling rice in East Africa. "Something should be done now in this important rice sub sector," she said in Dar es Salaam over the weekend. Tasked by TPSF, Dr Noor presented a paper titled 'A Policy Scoping Study on Improving Rice Exports to the EAC region by the Tanzania private sector.' The meeting organised by TPSF and Trade Mark East Africa was attended by members of the private and public sector from within and EA countries. The study found out that several challenges face Tanzanian business persons such as 75 per cent tariff when exporting rice to Uganda and Rwanda which is contrary to EAC laws. The rice which is subject to 75 per cent tariff is the one imported from outside the region mainly from Asia. However, some EA countries claim that Tanzanian businessmen sell to them rice which is illegally mixed with the one imported from Asia. The meeting recommended setting up of Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) offices and verification machines in all border areas to strengthen quality control measures and curb smuggling. Another...

The World Trade Organisation is holding its 10th Ministerial Conference (MC10) in Nairobi from 15 to 18 December. Foreign Minister Amina Mohammed will be chairing the conference. It will be a challenging undertaking. The minister was expressing a common African sentiment when she said (in Geneva on July 1) that the Doha Development Agenda negotiations cannot be concluded without "credible" developmental outcomes in Nairobi. She went on to say African countries will blame Kenya for hosting the 10th ministerial meeting in Nairobi when all their developmental demands are pushed under the carpet for concluding the round.  Need for East Africa and Africa to Unite at the MC10 Minister Amina is right. Oduor Ong’wen, the executive director of the ODM, congratulated the minister for her statement. In times like this, all nationalist forces must join hands and not let the WTO divide and rule the nation (or the region, or Africa). I write as chairperson of SEATINI (Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute). I was also, from 2004 to 2009, the executive director of the South Centre. The SC is a policy and research think tank of the global South based in Geneva. It was founded among others, by the late Mwalimu Nyerere. SEATINI is an NGO. Since 1997, we have been engaged in developing technical and negotiating capacity of East African trade negotiators in Geneva as well as in the capitals of East African countries. We have also been working with national MPs and members of the...

East Africa can become a global and intra-regional trade hub but only if it dismantles all trade barriers in the region, according to researchers at the UK-based Barclays Bank plc. The researchers note that improving Customs  clearance procedures, facilitating greater cross-border co-operation, eliminating both tariff and non-tariff barriers  and increasing  investment in infrastructure such as roads, railway, ports, airports and energy  could transform the prospects for the region’s trade. “East Africa benefits most from relatively strong border administration and a fast-growing regional market,” they say. In their  Barclays Africa Trade Index (2015) report, the researchers  say many countries in Africa  have taken some positive steps  to boost  trade  by harmonising regulations along transport corridors, reducing stay times at the ports and delays associated with Customs control points and co-ordinating Customs processes across regional economic communities. The Barclays Africa Trade Index was commissioned by Barclays Bank Plc to compare and rank 31 sub-Saharan African countries based on their attractiveness for cross-border trade. The researchers sampled the largest countries in the region in terms of population size and national wealth (gross domestic product). According to the report, the appearance of Tanzania and Ethiopia among the top 10 performing countries on the overall index affirms the potential of East Africa as a promising hub for international trade. The report says many governments are also lowering tariff and other non-tariff barriers, pursuing a pro-business reform agenda and addressing the skills gap through better health, education and training services. The report notes that while East Africa...