Posted on February, 25, 2019 at 09:16 am
SUPPORT for the East African Community (EAC) that is pushing to realize its integration agenda is on the rise, with Brazil promising to chip in.
Presenting his accreditation letter to the EAC Secretary General (SG), Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko here recently, Brazil Ambassador to Tanzania and the EAC, Mr Antonio Cesar told the SG that Brazil attaches great importance to regional economic groupings such as the EAC, congratulating Ambassador Mfumukeko for the wonderful regional initiatives.
"Count on Brazil support because the goals of the Community are excellent for the prosperity of the people in the region", asserted the Brazilian envoy, adding that "regional integration initiatives take time, but you need to continue so as to build a strong and powerful bloc," he said.
Ambassador Cesar hailed the EAC as one of the fastest growing Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in the world and said that Brazil and the Southern American Common Market (MERCOSUR) of which Brazil is a member had a lot to learn from the EAC.
While receiving the Brazilian Ambassador, the SG hailed the existing cordial relations between the EAC and Brazil. He welcomed the support from the Brazilian government geared towards enabling the Community to achieve its ambitious agenda.
The Secretary General briefed him on the progress being registered by the Community so far, which includes implementation of Protocols on the Customs Union, Common Market, East African Monetary Union and Political Federation.
He further disclosed that the EAC partner states had started drafting Constitution for EAC Confederation that is the model for a political federation that had been adopted by the Heads of State Summit.
He informed the Brazilian Ambassador that the EAC has close working relationships with other RECs in Africa which are all geared towards promoting the African Union's vision of an African Economic Community. Present at the accreditation occasion were the EAC Deputies Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Engineer Steven Mlote and Mr Christophe Bazivamo of the Productive and Social sector.
Early this week, Germany gave the EAC $14.5m to boost the war against disease menace, boosting the secretariat's quest of combating pandemic diseases. The funding seeks to support the community's efforts in pandemic preparedness and in fighting communicable diseases through a programme dubbed 'Regional Network of Reference Laboratories for Communicable Diseases'.
Ambassador Mfumukeko noted then that the funding will enhance the project's aim of establishing a network of efficient, high quality, accessible public health laboratories for the diagnosis and surveillance of Ebola, Marburg, Meningitis, Cholera, Tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. Germany, through KFW, its government-owned development bank based in Frankfurt, further committed $5.5 million dedicated for the continuation of the EAC Scholarship Programme.
Wednesday's event also witnessed the signing of a €13.5 million technical cooperation support deal geared towards supporting the EAC integration agenda, strengthening of the regional quality infrastructure for selected sectors and supporting pandemic preparedness in the region. Germany and the EAC have had strong and cordial relations for two decades now.
Source: Daily News