A newly established national policy on the East African Community (EAC) integration will enable Rwanda to further advance her interests in the region, according to the Minister of EAC Affairs. Monique Mukaruliza told journalists yesterday that to ensure that the country’s interests in the bloc are effectively managed, the government decided to put in place a policy that will proactively respond to the EAC integration issues at both national and regional levels."This does not mean that, our interests in the EAC bloc were not effectively managed, but this policy will enhance the way we implement our cooperation framework agreement with EAC partner states,” she asserted.The policy that was approved by the ministerial cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame on Wednesday, focuses on five key strategic areas.They include mainstreaming regional integration into Rwanda’s development, engaging EAC institutions, mitigation and safeguard measures that will focus on reducing negative implications of the integration process for Rwanda, follow-up on EAC decisions and obligations, and institutional framework that will coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of EAC commitments in Rwanda.Mukaruliza added that the newly introduced policy would play a key role in enabling Rwanda to equitably share all benefits accruing from the regional integration.The national policy provides and advocates for active participation of the public, private sector, civil society and other stakeholders in determining Rwanda’s agenda in EAC integration."In this policy, issues to do with the removal of Non Tariff Barriers, monitoring of Rwanda exports and imports in the region will be dealt with,” the minister noted.She observed that since the country joined the EAC bloc, the nation’s agenda in the EAC was not highlighted in the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS1), adding that in the second EDPRS performance framework, the regional integration indicators will be developed for inclusion into all ministerial plans."Rwanda stands to gain multiple benefits from the regional integration through this policy,” she noted.In a related development, the Cabinet approved the national policy on water resources management that will ensure protection, conservation, restoration and rational use of water resources to meet the country’s medium and long term social economic development.Speaking at the same news conference, the Deputy Director General of Water Resources at Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (RNRA), Vincent de Paul Kabalisa, said the policy will manage and develop the water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner."The water resources in our country face growing challenges arising from pressures of rapidly changing demographic patterns; this deemed it necessary to set up a policy that will address this phenomenon,” he asserted.