NAIROBI, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Five East African countries on Thursday resolved to boost economic integration and continental trade facilitation by making trade between them and other countries cheaper, faster and simpler.
Representatives from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda also agreed in a joint statement issued in Nairobi, to implement trade facilitation reforms including reducing "non-tariff barriers" such as burdensome and incompatible product regulations.
"I feel so proud because this is an opportunity for the EAC countries, many of which are landlocked, to sell their products within the region, in Africa and across the whole world," said Frederick Ngobi Gume, Uganda's Minister for Cooperatives, whose country is currently chair of the East African Community (EAC).
Ngobi said the initiative which was agreed during a meeting moderated by Mukhisa Kituyi, secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), will go a long way to stimulate trade within the EAC and further afield.
"It also gives us an opportunity to simplify the import and export of commodities. Such an approach reduces bureaucracy, with online clearances reducing contacts at the border," he added.
The representatives of the nations, who are members of the EAC customs union and common market committed to supporting National Trade Facilitation Committees as the main vehicle for coordinating the implementation of the trade facilitation measures at the national level.
According to UNCTAD, intra-EAC trade, while low compared to regions outside Africa, is the highest among regional economic communities in Africa at 19.35 percent of exports.
Kituyi who moderated the ministerial meeting, which took place in parallel with the first UNCTAD Africa eCommerce Week that ends in Nairobi on Friday, said EAC is a driving force in Africa, displaying good practice in the implementation of trade facilitation reforms.
"The EAC Secretariat has shown strong leadership, and I am confident this will continue for smooth implementation at both national, regional and, eventually, continental levels," the former Kenyan trade minister said.
Kituyi said the UNCTAD has supported the institutional architecture of trade facilitation in the East Africa region for many years.
"For example, we have helped launch trade portals, which simplify trade procedures and reduce the time and cost of trade transactions in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, and soon in Tanzania," he added.
Thursday's move comes after most African countries signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTFA) in March.
The AfCFTA envisages establishing an African free trade area by building on regional blocs such as the EAC where trading nations already work together.
