East African community to sign Common Market agreement

An important step in the process of economic integration the 11th session of the East African Community Summit in Johannesburg, November 19, will be held in Arusha, Tanzania, on 20th.　　While celebrating the 10 anniversary of the establishment of the organization, the five heads of state of the community will sign the East African Common Market agreement at the summit, marking a landmark step in the economic integration process of the East African community. The East African Community, comprising 5 countries from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, aims to strengthen the full cooperation of Member States in the political, economic and cultural fields, to achieve sustainable economic and social development, to establish customs unions, common markets, monetary union and ultimately to achieve political alliances.　　The total population of the East African community is over 120 million and the total economy is nearly 60 billion dollars. The establishment of the East African Community Customs Union in early 2005 has injected vitality into the region's economic development. Between 2005 and 2008, the volume of trade between the members of the East African Community increased by 49%, and foreign direct investment received by Member States increased from 692 million US dollars in 2002 to $1.763 billion in 2007, and Cross-border investment in member countries increased significantly.　　At the same time, the continued development of integration has increased the organization's leverage in international negotiations and has won more benefits for Member States. The benefits of regional economic integration have strengthened the confidence of Member States to further promote integration. After more than a year of hard negotiations, the five heads of State of the East African Community eventually agreed on a common market for the establishment of this year at the end of April, agreeing to adopt a flexible strategy to resolve the differences. Since then, the five countries have held numerous consultations to ensure that the common Market agreement can be signed this month.　　After the entry into force of the Common Market agreement, goods, services, capital and personnel can flow freely between the five countries, which will further accelerate the development of intraregional trade, promote the optimal allocation of human resources in the region, increase business opportunities and bring more opportunities for economic development in the region. But the signing of the Common Market agreement does not mean the formal establishment of the East African Common Market. In fact, the agreement will require consideration by Member States. David Nas, Permanent Secretary of the Kenya East African Community Affairs Department, said that Member States would have 6 months to review the agreement, so the common Market agreement would not be effective until July 2010.　　Some analysts believe that the six-year review period will give Member States ample time to consider the opportunities and challenges that the common market will bring, which is a good buffer period. Moreover, the East African Community is not fully aligned in the progress of integration. Rwanda and Burundi joined the East African community in June 2007, only to join the customs union in July this year, and the two countries are still lagging behind the other three in implementing the customs Union-related agreements. In addition, the existence of non-tariff barriers within the community is not conducive to the implementation of the Common Market agreement. The Executive director of the East African Business Council, Charles, said recently that the low efficiency of the border crossings between the Member States hindered the development of regional economic integration. To this end, the Member States recently decided that the first disputeThe establishment of a comprehensive customs union early next year, the total elimination of all trade barriers within the organization, the introduction of a unified tariff, the establishment of a common market for the forthcoming foundation. While many challenges still face, the East African Community is confident in regional economic integration. Mwapachu, the Secretary general of the East African Community, said the series of events held this year to celebrate the 10 anniversary of the organization's establishment was a broader support for regional integration. Uganda's East Africa Business Week has published a series of articles on the achievements of the East African community in the past 10 years, and believes that with the full establishment of the customs union and the signing of the Common Market Agreement, 2010 will be a glorious year for the East African community.