US, TMEA sign Rwf17b deal to facilitate trade in the region

A $25m (about Rwf17.3b) funding deal aimed at facilitating trade along the Northern and Central corridors has been signed between TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) and the US. The two routes link land locked countries in region like Rwanda to Mombasa (Northern Corridor) and Dar es Salaam (Central Corridor) ports.The funds will be channelled through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The agreement will also focus on facilitating the regional integration, TradeMark East Africa, said in a statement yesterday.It added that the support will help TMEA broaden its regional integration programmes at the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and key border posts along the Northern - Kigali-Kampala-Mombasa and Central - Kigali-Dar es Salaam - corridors. TMEA will also work with East African Community (EAC) member states to remove the remaining barriers to trade. Some of the existing trade barriers include high customs fees, corruption, weighbridges, bad roads and delays at border posts. TradeMark East Africa provides technical and monetary support to the EAC secretariat, national governments, private sector and civil society to help improve business environment in the region.The agreement was signed by USAID associate administrator, Mark Feierstein and Frank Matsaert, the TMEA boss in Nairobi, Kenya. Feierstein said the deal will unite donor efforts aimed at supporting the East African Community implement its shared vision of a prosperous East Africa.In July, 2013, president Barrack Obama announced the United States Trade Africa Initiative, a new partnership between the US and sub-Saharan Africa that seeks to increase internal and regional trade within the EAC, and expand trade and economic ties between Africa, the US and other global markets.“The US government is an important partner in promoting regional and economic integration in East Africa. “TradeMark East Africa will continue to focus its efforts on increasing trade and prosperity in the region, primarily through investments that have the biggest benefit for East Africans and the private sector,” Matsaert noted.He added that facilitating regional trade is one of the most effective means that will help create jobs and alleviate poverty. He noted that trade infrastructure is critical to the region’s development goals. According to the agreement, the US Trade Africa Initiative will assist the organisation to address economic growth constraints by promoting intra-regional exports, as well as help create new markets for exports, including in the US. Removing barriers to cross-border trade can reduce the average time to import or export a container from Mombasa or Dar es Salaam to Burundi and Rwanda and Uganda by 15 per cent.Commenting on the development, Nathan Gashayija, the director of economic and productive sectors at the Ministry of East Africa Community Affairs, said eliminating the existing non-tariff barriers will ease the movement of goods and services and foster the growth in the region.

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US, TMEA sign Rwf17b deal to facilitate trade in the region