From left: EAC Presidents Pierre Nkurunziza, Jakaya Kikwete, Uhuru
Kenyatta, Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame during The 15th Ordinary
Summit of The East African Community Heads of States at Speke Resort,
Kampala.Photo/PSCU
The
East African Community and the South African Customs Union (SACU) have
agreed to share ideas and learn best practices in various areas of
regional trade and competition.
Senior officials from SACU together with their counterpart EAC gathered in Arusha at two- day meeting aimed at benchmarking, outline best practices and share ideas in area like competition policy, trade in services, agriculture policy, revenue mobilization and industrial policy.
The March 27-28 meeting arose from a benchmark visit of the South African Custom Union team to the EAC Secretariat aimed at sharing ideas, where senior officers of EAC made presentations on the trading bloc.
The East African Business Council (EABC) also made a presentation on strategic plans in institutional strengthening, policy and advocacy, value adding services and membership development, increased visibility and partnerships creation along with maintenance.
Speaking during the opening of the meeting the EAC Deputy Secretary General (Finance and Administration), Jean Claude Nsengiyumva expressed appreciation for the trust that SACU has on EAC and happy that they chose to benchmark with the EAC.
Nsengiyumva reiterated that regional economic communities (RECs) to be strong ought to share best practices, leading to development of RECs and Africa at large.
Moureen Matomola, the deputy director for policy development and research in SACU and leader of the delegation, commended the EAC for accepting SACU’s request to come and study EAC best practices and share ideas to foster collaboration and strengthen ties between SACU and EAC.
She expressed appreciation for information obtained from the EAC as SACU is in the process of transforming into a proper economic community, applauding efforts undertaken by EAC in EAC-COMESA-SADC tripartite talks to ease trade between members of the various blocks. The visit is a continuation of efforts to foster ties between SACU and the EAC, she stated.
SACU is an African regional economic organization, considered the world's oldest customs union, founded in 1910 with membership that groups Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.
The five member states maintain a common external tariff, share customs revenues and coordinate policies and decision-making on a wide range of trade issues.
Senior officials from SACU together with their counterpart EAC gathered in Arusha at two- day meeting aimed at benchmarking, outline best practices and share ideas in area like competition policy, trade in services, agriculture policy, revenue mobilization and industrial policy.
The March 27-28 meeting arose from a benchmark visit of the South African Custom Union team to the EAC Secretariat aimed at sharing ideas, where senior officers of EAC made presentations on the trading bloc.
The East African Business Council (EABC) also made a presentation on strategic plans in institutional strengthening, policy and advocacy, value adding services and membership development, increased visibility and partnerships creation along with maintenance.
Speaking during the opening of the meeting the EAC Deputy Secretary General (Finance and Administration), Jean Claude Nsengiyumva expressed appreciation for the trust that SACU has on EAC and happy that they chose to benchmark with the EAC.
Nsengiyumva reiterated that regional economic communities (RECs) to be strong ought to share best practices, leading to development of RECs and Africa at large.
Moureen Matomola, the deputy director for policy development and research in SACU and leader of the delegation, commended the EAC for accepting SACU’s request to come and study EAC best practices and share ideas to foster collaboration and strengthen ties between SACU and EAC.
She expressed appreciation for information obtained from the EAC as SACU is in the process of transforming into a proper economic community, applauding efforts undertaken by EAC in EAC-COMESA-SADC tripartite talks to ease trade between members of the various blocks. The visit is a continuation of efforts to foster ties between SACU and the EAC, she stated.
SACU is an African regional economic organization, considered the world's oldest customs union, founded in 1910 with membership that groups Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.
The five member states maintain a common external tariff, share customs revenues and coordinate policies and decision-making on a wide range of trade issues.
SOURCE:
GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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