Rwanda and Burundi signed a treaty on their full membership of the East African Community (EAC) at a regional summit. Their membership, which shall be effective starting from July 1, will bring the number of EAC members to five from three: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.  After the signing, Rwandese President Paul Kagame said the entry of Rwanda and Burundi provides the region with an opportunity to re-dedicate itself to a wider and deeper integration that will prosper East Africans. The host of the summit, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, said that integration of East Africa and Africa at large was the only way to ensure the economic growth of the region and the continent. "East Africa is the most well placed part of Africa that can lead this great continent out of the straight jacket Balkanization. A Balkanized Africa will not guarantee the region's economic development," Museveni stressed. The coming in of Rwanda and Burundi will see the EAC have a population of over 100 million and a formidable market which the member states expect to exploit. The countries are expected to boost cross-border trade, investments and tourism, as well as enhance security and peace.

World Refugee Day

Wednesday, June 20 is World Refugee Day, established by the United Nations as an annual salute to the courage, resilience and strength of refugees.

SADC to Create Free Trade Zone

The creation of a free trade zone in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in 2008 is one of the main recommendations from the meeting of regional organization’s Ministers Integrated Committee held on 16th June 2007, in Windhoek, Namibia. The Committee also proposed the constitution of the Customs Union in 2010, the Common Market in 2015, and the Monetary Union in 2018. Speaking at the end of the meeting, the Angolan Planning Minister, Ana Dias Lourenço, explained member countries agreed that the proposal for the creation of the free trade zone be presented at the Heads of State and Government Summit in August this year, in Lusaka. Meanwhile, Angola expressed  its reservation about joining a free trade zone in 2008, because of the current lack of appropriate conditions in the country, since it is still too much involved in its process of economic restructuring.

Zimbabwe Crisis Talks Underway

Much-anticipated face-to-face Zimbabwe crisis talks between the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) finally got under way in Pretoria, overcoming last-minute political hitches. South African President Thabo Mbeki, regionally appointed mediator in the talks, met on Saturday with Secretaries General Tendai Biti of the MDC faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube of the Arthur Mutambara MDC formation. Mr. Mbeki’s team also met with a ZANU-PF delegation led by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Labor Minister Nicholas Goche.

Sudan: Most Vulnerable to Internal Conflict

Sudan and seven other sub-Saharan African countries are among the 10 nations in the world most vulnerable to violent internal conflict and deteriorating conditions, according to a private survey. In the third annual "failed state" index, analysts for Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to conflict resolution said, Sudan was judged most at risk of failure. Violence in the Darfur region was the main contributing cause. As evidence that troubles in failing states often cross borders, the report cited violence spilling from Darfur into the Central African Republic and Chad. The five other African nations found most vulnerable were Somalia, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea. The ratings are based on 12 social, economic, political and military indicators. The only non-African states among the 10 with the lowest scores were Iraq, second only to Sudan, and Afghanistan, ranked eighth.

Kofi Annan Appointed Chairman of AGRA

The former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, has been appointed first Chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Reacting to the development, Annan said he was deeply moved and honored by the appointment and hoped to use his position to stimulate agricultural progress. AGRA was established last year with an initial grant of US$150 million from the foundations of Bill & Melinda Gates and Rockefeller. Its main objective is to boost farming among small-scale farmers, consequently improving incomes, livelihoods and food security. With its Headquarters in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the Alliance is set for continental assignments which include strengthening local and regional agricultural markets, helping to improve irrigation, soil health, training farmers and, supporting the development of new seed systems better equipped to cope with the harsh African climate.

India to Increase its Visibility in Africa

India is looking at increasing its economic and diplomatic visibility in Africa. India's non-oil trade with West Africa stands at more than $3-billion and is rising rapidly, accounting for 1.2 percent of India's world trade. Since the re-establishment of diplomatic relations in 1993, Indo-South African trade has increased to more than $4-billion, with a target of $12-billion in the next three years. Along the East African coast, cultural and trade relations continue to grow and India retains active relations with Mauritius and the Seychelles. However, India's economic links are moving beyond its traditional Indian Ocean and Commonwealth partners. Indian investment in Côte d'Ivoire is expected to grow to $1-billion by 2011, representing 10 percent of total Indian foreign investment in the past decade.

Compiled by Anne Mugoya
Inter Region Economic Network