Rwanda and Tanzania yesterday signed an agreement to boost cross border trade by eliminating trade barriers.The deal was signed in Kigali by François Kanimba, Minister of Trade and Industry, and the Tanzanian Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade, Gregory Teu. The signing marked the climax of a bilateral meeting on elimination of non-tariff barriers (NTB’s) and the promotion of cross-border trade.Kanimba observed that Rwanda and Tanzania were important trading partners with a firm commitment to increasing trade and cooperation."I hope with these relations, Rwanda and Tanzania will cooperate to further increase small trader cross-border business,” he said. Kanimba added that the agreement will further help the two countries remove barriers to trade and create a favourable business environment to facilitate trade."It is important to eliminate all reported trade barriers and refrain from introducing new ones in order to cut the high cost of doing business and take advantage of all the benefits of regional integration,” he said.  According to statistics, Tanzania was Rwanda’s seventh largest trading partner in 2011, accounting for four percent of Rwanda’s international trade and 17 percent of regional trade.On his part, Teu said that the pact will further strengthen trade relations between the two countries and also boost regional trade. "We expect from this bilateral relations, our citizens from the two countries to trade between each other easily,” he said, adding that the elimination of Non Tariff barriers will reduce the costs of doing business between the two countries. The Executive Secretary of Rwanda Long Distance Truckers Association, Theodore Murenzi, said: "I am happy that the two countries have agreed to eliminate NTBs which have been affecting us, especially because we lose money and time along the corridor which impacts on our businesses.” Under the agreement, Rwanda and Tanzania will share lists of sensitive commodities where either party may wish to apply for stay of application of the EAC Common External Tariff (EAC-CET).Tanzania will also accelerate a study on optimal number of weighbridges, road blocks and checkpoints whose report is expected in December 2012. It will also issue simplified Certificates of Origin for goods originating in the EAC Partner States free of charge. Rwanda will also make a formal request to the Tanzanian Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development for adequate land within ten kilometres from the port of Dar es Salaam. The two countries also agreed to jointly develop infrastructure  and simplify  procedures at Rusumo border which includes fast-tracking the construction of the One-Stop-Border-Post, establishing Trade Information Desks, ensuring reliable power, among other things. Tanzania through its Rusumo border post handled Rwanda’s imports from port of Dar es Salaam totalling to $ 74 million in 2011, boosting trade between the two countries by an average of 56 percent since 2007.