New German Ambassador presents Credentials to EAC Secretary General
East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 12 September 2017:
The new Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Republic of Tanzania and the East African Community, H.E. Dr. Detlef Waechter, today presented his credentials to the EAC Secretary General at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
Receiving the German Ambassador, EAC Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko hailed the strong relations between the Community and Germany noting that Germany had provided generous technical and financial support to the EAC for almost two decades.
Amb. Mfumukeko informed Dr. Waechter of the significant progress made by the EAC in the four pillars of integration namely the Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union and Political Federation, adding that the Community had made great strides in the four pillars due to political goodwill by the leaders of the Partner States.
Amb. Mfumukeko said the EAC together with the Southern African Development Community(SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) were at an advanced stage in the negotiations for the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) which brings together 26 countries with a market of over 600 million people.
The Secretary General reaffirmed EAC’s commitment to exploit its human and natural resources for the benefit of the entire region, saying that already significant achievements had already been recorded in trade, customs and infrastructure development.
Noting that East Africa has a big population of educated but unemployed youth, Amb. Mfumukeko said that going forward the Community would focus on modernizing the agricultural sector through provision of agricultural inputs, value addition and technology.
In his remarks, Dr. Waechter assured the Secretary General of his country’s commitment to working closely with EAC to enable the Community attains its objectives in the integration process.
The Ambassador said Germany was keen to share with the EAC its experiences in the European integration, adding that the EAC could learn from the EU in addressing some of the emerging challenges in the integration process.
Also in attendance at the meeting were Ms. Norzin Grigoleit-Dagyab, First Secretary in charge of EAC Regional Cooperation at the German Embassy in Dar es Salaam; Mr. Bernd Multhaup and Ms. Kirsten Focken of GIZ Tanzania; Mr. Steven Mlote, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, and; Dr. Anthony Kafumbe, the Counsel to the Community.
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For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001: 2008 Certified