ETHIOPIA, DJIBOUTI TO JOIN EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

• Bloc set to become a market size of 800 million people

Arusha: The East African Community (EAC) is set to become a market size of 800 million people, with the introduction of more countries to the regional economic community on the cards.

With Somalia waiting in line to join the regional intergovernmental organisation of seven partner states, two countries from the Horn of Africa are also set to become part of the EAC.

EAC Secretary General, Dr. Peter Mathuki hinted here on Tuesday evening that both Djibouti and Ethiopia would also join the Regional Economic Community.

“The vision of our leaders is to have a market of 800 million people. And that will be possible if we integrate all the countries in the horn of Africa and make one huge market,” projected Dr. Mathuki, shortly before launching the EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP II).

Dr. Mathuki’s revelations come in the wake of negotiations between the EAC and the Federal Republic of Somalia for the entry of Somalia into the bloc.

Held in August, the nine-day negotiations brought together experts from the seven EAC partner states, the EAC Secretariat, East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) and East African Court of Justice (EACJ) and their counterparts from the Federal Republic of Somalia.

In the same vein, Dr. Mathuki challenged EAC partner states to look beyond agriculture as MARKUP II programme comes into effect.

“It is important to go beyond the traditional areas that we’ve been focusing on and see how we can exploit and unleash our potential,” he explained.

The launch of the EU –EAC MARKUP II, which costs €40million (about 105bn/-) begins a new phase with the objective of supporting small agribusinesses and horticultural producers to compete in international markets.

The phase, which runs until 2027, aims to harness the full potential of agribusiness in the EAC partner states.

The renewed efforts will prioritise sectors and value chains within the EAC, which lay emphasis on processing, value addition, and diversification, investment, and export linkages.

For her part, European Union (EU) Ambassador to Tanzania, Ms. Christine Grau, said MARKUP II programme represents EU clear commitment to supporting East African Community companies as it support sustainable growth and create decent job opportunities.

Through reduction of trade barriers, strong project governance, increased awareness and access to finance and market linkages, the envoy further observed that the programme aims to propel African companies to new heights.

“So let us embrace this initiative together and let’s unlock the full potential of Africa’s economic development,” she added.

MARKUP II is a regional project funded by the EU and implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in partnership with the EAC.

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