Over 50 officials from the five member states of the Central Corridor (Burundi, the DR Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) are meeting in Kigali to discuss ways how to further improve trade and transport logistics along the corridor. The week-long session that started this morning involves stakeholders from all the member countries from public and private sectors. At the onset, participants were given a progress report on the state of transport on the corridor which was compiled by the Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (TTFA). Presenting the report, Dr. Rukia D. Shamte, the Executive Secretary of the agency, said that one of the landmark achievements was the recent harmonisation of road user fees across member states. "Most of you know that the last time we met, in April last year, there was an issue of road user fees for trucks, especially for Burundi,” she said, adding that road user fees in Rwanda and Burundi were harmonized at US$152, since July last year. The TTFA was formed in recognition of the right of landlocked countries (LLC) to transit trade as declared under specific UN General Assembly Resolution 56/180.

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