Regional leaders jet in for Northern Corridor Summit

By Taddeo Bwambale

Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta are among regional Heads of State to grace the 10th Northern Corridor Integration Projects Summit due to take place tomorrow, Saturday.

Both leaders were scheduled to arrive in the country this afternoon.

The heads of state summit due to take place at Speke Resort Munyonyo Saturday brings together regional heads from the Northern Corridor region to discuss development projects.

The Northern Corridor is the transport link connecting landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Kenya.  Delegations from Burundi and Tanzania are expected at the summit.

Prior to the heads of state summit, ministerial and technical experts’ meetings were held by delegations from all the countries on Friday and Thursday, respectively.

The Northern Corridor Integration Projects initiative is designed to generate sustainable political will necessary to fast track the implementation of the projects identified.

During the summit, the heads of state are expected to sign an agreement on the total liberalization of labor and services, according to a brief from the ministry of foreign affairs.

The regional leaders are also scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding on cyber security and launch a website (portal) for the northern corridor projects.

For the first time since the inception of the summits, the private sector has participated in the summit by hosting a Dinner for Heads of State on Friday.

The interaction will highlight the available opportunities in the northern corridor integration projects for the private Sector to participate in their implementation.

Under the arrangement, partner countries have so far agreed on the removal of non-tariff barriers to reduce the cost of doing business and established a One Network Areas where roaming charges on voice calls have been harmonized and drastically reduced.

Member countries have also spearheaded freedom of movement achieved by use of National Identity cards, issuance of East African Tourist Visa that has resulted in increased tourist traffic and launched the construction of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

The first northern corridor summit was held in 2013 and heads of state of Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya agreed to meet every two months on rotational basis to review progress made.

The decision is supported by articles 1 & 7 of EAC treaty which encourage progression in cooperation among groups within the community for wider integration.

The previous (9th) Northern Corridor Summit was held in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali in 2014 and it resolved to speed up implementation of the SGR and attract private sector investment

Member states also agreed to fight emergence of non-tariff barriers and to form a comprehensive conflict and dispute resolution mechanism.

This year’s summit will be the second for Burundi as a member and for South Sudan which is part of the single customs territory.