Speaking during a one-day tour of
Arusha, when he also paid a visit to the EAC Headquarters here, the
Germany Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said the
money had been invested in education, health and infrastructure
projects, among other sectors.
Dr Steinmeier said that his country will
continue its support for the EAC which he said was on the right track
in terms of economic and political integration. He said that there was
no global blueprint for regional integration, adding that the EU was
currently grappling with the refugee crisis brought about by the
conflict in Syria and the Greek financial crisis.
“Integration is not a fair weather
project. Germany would not be where it is today without economic
cooperation with the rest of Europe. I can say that the 60 years of
European cooperation has been a success story,” he said.
The Minister said it was up to the EAC
Partner States to prioritize areas of cooperation amongst them. He said
Germany was keen on increasing its cooperation with the EAC especially
in areas such as vocational training, education and technology transfer.
Dr Steinmeier was addressing journalists
at the EAC Secretariat in Arusha, after he held bilateral talks with
the EAC Secretary General, Dr Richard Sezibera. The Minister urged the
African Union and the EAC to expedite resolving the ongoing conflict in
Burundi to prevent a spillover effect into neighboring states. He
expressed hope that the views and concerns of all parties in the
Burundian conflict including the Diaspora would be incorporated in the
peace talks.
On economic growth in Africa and the
EAC, Dr Steinmeier said it was disturbing that the perceived benefits
from encouraging economic growth figures were not trickling down to the
majority of the population especially those who live in the rural areas,
in terms of employment opportunities and poverty reduction.
In his remarks, Dr Sezibera thanked
Germany for its generous assistance which enabled the EAC to record
significant success including the realization of the Customs Union,
Common Market and commitments to support the attainment of the East
African Monetary Union.
Dr Sezibera disclosed that intra-EAC trade had grown from 10 per cent a few years ago to more than 26 per cent at the moment.
The Secretary General said EAC was
deeply interested in penetrating the German market which he described as
large and vibrant, adding that the region also wanted to benefit from
technology transfer from Europe’s largest economy.
On economic growth and efforts to
address poverty, Dr Sezibera said the priority for the EAC in terms of
employment was to rethink training in the region.
“Our focus is on vocational training and
whether entrants into the job market have the right skills. We are also
involving our agroprocessing industries on how to expand manufacturing
to a level that can create more jobs,” said the Secretary General.
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