Preparations in high gear for high level conference on trade integration in EAC

By George Mangula

Preparations are in high gear for a high level conference on trade integration in the East African Community (EAC) scheduled to take place from September 25-27, 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The conference will take place under the theme, “Enhancing Trade Integration in East African Community”. It has been organized by the EAC in collaboration with East African Business Council, TradeMark  East Africa, the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) and the host country Kenya.

According to the Director General Customs and Trade at the EAC Secretariat, Kenneth A. Bagamuhunda, the regional steering committee and its sub-committees are on top of things and that the process for registration is ongoing.

“All Key resource persons and Development Partners have also confirmed their presence,” said Bagamuhunda.

He said the conference was designed to offer an opportunity to assess the progress, discuss challenges and propose the way forward for the fully-fledged Customs Union.

“It also provides a platform to examine the adequacy of the legal, institutional and policy frameworks, the resource and technological capacity as well as collaboration with the private sector in defining the future of the Customs Union as a pivot integration of EAC,” he said.

The conference will be part of the 20th Anniversary of EAC and the 15th Anniversary of implementing the Customs Union.

The conference is expected to attract over 300 key players from the East African region, international and regional economic communities, exhibitors, stakeholders and government officials drawn from corporate organizations such as telecommunication companies, insurance companies and banks, importers and exporters, national and international transport companies, shipping lines and clearing agents among others.

It targets International organizations like; the World Customs Organization, World Trade Organization; the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB); United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); International Trade Centre (ITC); United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), African Union Commission(AUC); the International Monetary Fund(IMF), Development Partners/Donors, sister regional economic communities as well as the academia, Customs administrations, and other government agencies.