Kenya has wrapped up its final national trade consultation under the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI), a program designed to strengthen regional trade facilitation and integration.
The meeting brought together government agencies, the private sector and development partners in Nairobi, marking the culmination of a series of missions across Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Kenya.
The consultation was led by the Kenya National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC), which reviewed the HoAI Trade Facilitation Roadmap, a strategic framework designed to reduce the cost and time of doing business across the region, while promoting seamless cross-border trade and deeper economic integration.
The roadmap outlines several strategic interventions that include Non-Tariff barriers (NTBs), which will strengthen the collaboration mechanism to identify, report and resolve NTBs that hinder trade. Modernizing border post will establish fast-track lanes for compliant traders, perishable goods and priority cargo for a faster clearance.
It also proposed measures that will help in development of regional electronic cargo tracking system, integrated IT-based road management system, a stronger regional and bilateral trade agreements and a regional payment system to support faster, secure and cost-effective cross border transactions.
The consultation is part of preparations for the Horn of Africa Trade Ministers’ Meeting, scheduled for September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
