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Add to Preferred SourcesThe African Development Bank has approved the East Africa Regional Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) laying out the roadmap for accelerating regional integration in the Region with regional infrastructure development among the main pillars of the plan. The Strategy will guide the Bank’s regional operations in 13 countries, namely Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
The Regional Integration Strategy Paper 2018-2022 maps out the direction of the Bank’s regional integration work in Eastern Africa over the next five years. The key objectives are fast-tracking structural transformation, increasing trade and promoting financial sector integration and inclusion.
The strategy is focused on two mutually reinforcing pillars namely regional infrastructure development for competitiveness and transformation, and strengthening of policy and institutional frameworks for market integration, growing investments and value chains development.
Countries in the region grapple with poor infrastructure including power shortages, low electricity connection rates and high cost of electricity for manufacturing enterprises – about four times higher than the global average. They are also characterized by low-level industrialization, with manufacturing added value below 15% in all the region’s member countries.
“Most Eastern African countries depend on agricultural and mineral products for their exports,” said Nnenna Nwabufo, Deputy Director General, East Africa during her presentation to the Board. “But most of these products are of low-level sophistication and low value added. This is why this Strategy Paper is key to boosting industrialization and intra-regional trade.”
Nwabufo added that approval of the Strategy Paper sets the framework for the Bank to support key economic sectors like regional energy and transport, which will underpin Eastern Africa’s transformation.
Original source: AfDB
Published on 12 October 2018