Posted in Press Release
The Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Dr Richard Sezibera, received credentials from the Belgian and European Union Ambassadors who have been accredited to the East African Community.
While presenting his credentials to Dr. Sezibera, Belgian Ambassador to Tanzania and the EAC, H.E. Paul Cartier, said his country was keen on strengthening her relations with the Community. Amb. Cartier said Belgium wants to be part of the solution to various challenges facing the EAC.
In his remarks, Amb. Dr Sezibera thanked the Belgian government for her offer of additional support to the EAC, adding that a framework of agreement for cooperation will be developed between Belgium and the Community.
The Secretary General hailed Belgium for her contribution to the Partnership Fund, which has enabled the EAC to undertake programmes and projects in various sectors. The Head of the EU Delegation to Tanzania and to the EAC, H.E. Mr. Roeland van de Geer, also presented his credentials to the Secretary General.
Amb. van de Geer noted that the EU's assistance to the EAC was broad covering almost all sectors of the integration agenda, reaffirming that the EU would continue providing this support. He urged the EAC to identify and prioritize the areas in which it would require increased support from the EU.
Amb. Sezibera and Amb. van de Geer agreed to hold bilateral talks to re-examine the cooperation framework between the EAC and the EU with the goal of making improvements, with technical teams from both sides exploring areas for future cooperation.
Amb. van de Geer conveyed the EU's condolences to the EAC and the family of the late Ms. Isabelle Wafubbwa, the Principal Political Affairs Officer, at the Community who passed on recently. He described Ms. Wafubbwa as having been instrumental in cooperation between the two regional economic communities especially in the field of political integration.
Posted in Press Release
Japan has committed to support the EAC regional integration agenda and to strengthen areas of cooperation between herself and the East African Community. This was revealed today during a consultative meeting between representatives of the Government of Japan and the EAC Secretariat held at the EAC Headquarters, in Arusha.
The Deputy Ambassador of Japan to the United Republic of Tanzania, Counselor Hiroyuki Kubota underscored Japan’s commitment to support and engage the EAC in various development projects and programmes between the two regions. “The Government of Japan firmly believes that in order to foster socio-economic development, the involvement of the private sector is key, and with this, the Government of Japan is committed to facilitating the involvement of the private sector in both regions to play its critical role in the EAC integration agenda,” he remarked.
The EAC Secretary General, Amb. Dr Richard Sezibera expressed his appreciation to the Government of Japan for the ongoing support to the EAC both at the regional as well as bilateral levels. “The collaboration with Japan ranks highly in terms of its contributions toward deeper EAC integration,” he noted.
Amb. Sezibera highlighted Japan’s critical role in supporting the EAC agenda, noting her support in the development of the One Stop Border Posts (both hard and soft infrastructure); development of the Vehicle Load Control and the One Stop Border Post laws that are currently under going gazettement; co-financing with African Development Bank of the Arusha – Namanga – Athi River Road and various ports projects at the bilateral levels.
Present at the consultations was Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tanzania Office, Chief Representative, Mr Toshio Nagase who underscored Japan’s commitment to deliver on all projects committed under the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), reaffirming that those with various implementation challenges would soon be back on track, such as the Bujumbura Port Project.
Mr Nagase further informed the meeting that preparations for TICAD VI where underway and will address two thematic areas: human resources development and regional connectivity. “I call upon the EAC to propose priority projects under TICAD VI that are aligned to the two TICAV VI themes,” he added.
In concluding their consultations, the two parties agreed to look into modalities of hosting a side event, jointly sponsored by EAC and Japan, on the sidelines of TICAD VI slated for August 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Present at the consultative meeting were JICA Tanzania Office Representative, Mr Nobuyuki Kobe, EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Dr Enos Bukuku and EAC Director of Infrastructure, Mr Phillip Wambugu.