Africa: Rwandan president pledges efficiency in EAC
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has pledged to improve efficiency of the East African Community, saying that time has come to turnaround the regional economic bloc and render it more effective.
Kagame said that during his term as chair of the EAC summit, he would marshal the collaborative effort of the Summit, all the organs and institutions of the five-member regional bloc, the broad spectrum of EAC stakeholders and the development partners to steer EAC to a new era of greater efficiency and effectiveness.
According to a statement from the EAC secretariat issued on Tuesday, Kagame said other priority projects and programs would be the promotion of East Africa as a single tourist destination and the introduction of a common visa for tourists and business persons as well as intensification of the program of elimination of non tariff barriers (NTBs) under the ongoing program of the EAC Customs Union and the negotiations of the EAC Common Market.
He sad the immediate measures would be aimed at reducing the costs of doing business in East Africa and, on the whole, promote East Africa as a competitive single market and investment area with a thrust on tourism, trade and investments promotion.
The Rwandan leader who held a three hour strategic meeting with EAC secretary-general Juma Mwapachu and senior EAC officials also unveiled his vision of the five-nation EAC regional bloc of 120 million population and a combined GDP of 50 billion U.S. dollars.
“President Kagame said the EAC was operating in a dynamic and challenging environment, adding that his contribution would be to render the EAC into a more efficient and effective regional organization that was focused on its mission to realize the expectations and desires of the East African people in greater liberty, unity and prosperity,” the statement said.
The president said among the regional projects that would receive priority attention, and moved to advanced stages of implementation during his tenure, were the ongoing regional infrastructure development master plans in roads, railways, inland waterways, ports and harbors as well as the Lake Victoria investments and development master plan.
“The President noted that the program of marketing and promoting East Africa as a single tourist destination, which was launched in 2005, had proceed well with the EAC Partner States participating jointly in the leading travel and tourist source markets in Europe,” the statement said.
The President directed the EAC tourist boards to extend the joint marketing of East Africa to Asia, Far East, Australia and America, stating that EAC had great tourist potential with significant multiplier effects on the economies of the five countries.
The President also noted that the aviation industry had great strategic significance to the EAC regional integration and development.
He said the tourism industry would also be among the priorities of his tenure, including revival of the East African Flying School/ East African Aviation School in Soroti, Uganda for training of pilots and aviation engineers.
He said the aviation industry in East Africa would be revamped with promotion of investments to the sector to raise aviation standards and safety, open and safe skies and overall air traffic management in the region to the highest competitive levels.
Source:Xinhua