Addis Ababa July 1, 2022(Walta) – The Finance Ministerial meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative adopted Regional Trade Facilitation Roadmap, as a framework of action for strengthening trade facilitation in the region.
This came out of the Finance Ministers’ meeting held through video conferencing on Thursday, to review the status of project preparation and implementation under the Initiative, discuss policy actions to promote regional integration and look ahead at the priorities for the coming period.
The meeting further directed that the roadmap be accorded top priority to effectively serve as a guiding framework for comprehensive regional trade facilitation reforms over a three-year period, according to Finance Ministry.
The meeting was attended by Ministers of Finance and Trade of Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, and South Sudan along with high-level representatives of partners including the World Bank, EU, African Development Bank, and the IGAD.
Finance Minister Ahmed Shide noted the progress made in the delivery of projects under the initiative, recalling the recently signed two financing with the World Bank amounting to 325 million USD, for the implementation of the Ground Water for Resilience project and De-risking, Inclusion and Value Enhancement of Pastoral Economies project.
He further called on partners to support the implementation of the Horn of Africa Initiative Regional Trade Facilitation roadmap.
On his part, the State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration, Kassahun Gofe expressed his commitment to implementing the roadmap by employing the necessary governance and consultation mechanism.
The Horn of Africa Initiative was launched at the end of 2019 by Horn of Africa countries, to deepen their cooperation and integration to deliver development results for the sub-region through the support of the African Development Bank, World Bank, and European Union by focusing on four pillars.
Fostering trade and economic integration is one of the pillars of the initiative.