German – EAC partnership has recorded significant milestones with various sectors within the bloc benefiting from the union.
Germany and the East African Community (EAC) celebrated their union in Arusha, Tanzania with the former making a multi-million pledge to the intergovernmental organization.
The two parties were marking their 20th anniversary over the weekend. It was a significant milestone achieved that had endured tough times.
The EAC Secretariat, hosted delegates from the Germany to chart way forward in their economic cooperations. The EAC-German partnership has yielded fruits over the years and seek to do more in the coming years.
EAC Secretary General Amb Libérat Mfumukeko, and Mr. Niels Breyer the head of the Division East Africa at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Germany led the successful negotiations.
Earlier, Germany had signed a total of $42 million in grants to the EAC for 2016-2018, highlighting the strong commitment to supporting the integration process in East Africa. The total volume of German support to the EAC amounted to almost $326 million, after Amb. Libérat Mfumukeko held discussions with officials from the BMZ and Foreign Affairs, and KfW Development Bank on regional priorities for collaboration for the next three years and signed a $5.7 million agreement to support the scholarship programme for East African students in April 2018.
Mr. Breyer praised the Bloc for a commendable job in its efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He went on to state that Germany’s support to EAC is in line with its strategy support partner countries in implementing the development visions and reform goals of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
The Head of Division challenged EAC to strengthen its financial resources that would result in greater benefits such as employment opportunities in the region. Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) have addressed such lacks in the bloc by creating job opportunities as they tap the potential in the East African countries.
In a forum held in Berlin earlier this year, EAC’s objective was to lure major German companies and potential investors to the regional economy. Mr. Mfumukeko said the bloc has ample opportunities for private sector investment from the European economic powerhouse. Among the support EAC has received from Germany include the construction of the EAC headquarters in Arusha and capacity building for EAC, the apex body of the private sector associations in the region.
The economic growth in East Africa is slowly surpassing most other African regions and, EAC is putting measures into place to ensure it continues to perform better. The industrialization performance is touted to drive the regional economy with Tanzania being a frontier and is the highest recipient of FDI in East Africa. Rwanda is slowly gaining pace, with Kenya catching up.
Source: The Exchange
