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Dr. Vimal Shah, CEO, Bidco Oil Refineries addressed delegates during the opening session of GMIS Connect East African

GMIS Connect East Africa opens in Arusha

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 14th November, 2019: The Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit (GMIS) Connect Roadshow jointly organized by the East African Community together UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) opened today at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

The main objective of the GMIS Connect  roadshow themed:  Advanced Industrialization in East Africa: Challenges Opportunities for Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is to explore in detail the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution for the region’s manufacturing, industrialization and investment prospects.

Addressing the delegates at the official opening session, Tanzania's Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade, Hon. Eng Stella Martin Manyanya said GMIS is now working with the East African region as a platform that presents the manufacturing sector with the chance to tap from evolving technology.

“I urge the member states participating in the programme to take advantage of this opportunity for the benefit of all our people,said Hon. Manyanya.

She called on all partners to work together with GMIS to create greater awareness regarding the opportunities and challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution for the Regional Industrial Sector and come up with fruitful deliberations and recommendations on how best to go about with the 4th Industrial Revolution (4th IR) agenda in the EAC.

Eng. Manyanya said the region is fully committed to the UN 2030 Agenda and particularly Goal Nine (9) which seeks to promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization in order to achieve the middle income status and full actualization of the EAC Industrialization Strategy 2012-2032.  

On his part, the EAC Secretary General, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko, urged Partner States to develop niche markets in areas where they have competitive advantage and use the 4th IR as a way to spur up its growth. 

As a region we need to move away from traditional, linear (and non-disruptive) thinking or being too absorbed by immediate concerns to think strategically about the forces of disruption and innovation shaping our future,said Amb. Mfumukeko.

The Secretary General told the delegates that the EAC Partner States recognize the important role that Science, Technology and Innovations  (STI), play in socio-economic growth and sustainable development of the EAC Region, and a number of initiatives have been launched to promote STI.

"We have established institutions to specifically promote science, technology, innovation and higher learning and has established Centres of Excellence in various disciplines," said the SG.

Amb Mfumukeko informed the delegates that the East African Science and Technology Commission, an institution of the EAC, was established to increase investments in STI as key drivers and enablers of sustainable regional development and socio-economic Transformation.

He  added that  EAC in conjunction with the Inter-University Council for East Africa with other international partners are promoting the development of specialized skills and has currently introduced Masters Programmes in embedded and mobile systems and science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) or industry, agriculture, health and applied statistics, smart computing, among other fields.

Speaking at the same function, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo said the onus was on the EAC to make effective use of its industrialization potential to grow economically and attain important development goals

"Countries like ours in the EAC region–that are further from the development frontier –have a unique opportunity to benefit from the 4th IR," said Hon Bazivamo.

The two-day GMIS roadshow is expected to create greater awareness about the opportunities and challenges arising from the 4th IR for the regional industrial sector and the associated decision makers as well as other stakeholders.

The GMIS roadshow, brings together representatives of East African industrial and manufacturing companies including SMEs and start-ups; business associations; representatives of African Governments (industry and related); academia; think tanks; training and education institutions; UN organizations and civil society organizations, including representatives of youth and women.

Note to Editors:

A joint initiative by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Government of the United Arab Emirates, the Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit (GMIS) is a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together partners in advanced manufacturing to harness the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) for inclusive and sustainable industrial development

The GMIS Connect Roadshow in Arusha is part of GMIS Connect programme that prepares for the large GMIS 2020 Conference to be held Hannover, Messe in Germany.

- ENDS -

For more information, please contact:

Simon Peter Owaka
Senior Public Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 768 552087
Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org

About the East African Community Secretariat:

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001: 2008 Certified


East African Community
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