Kigali, 7 March 2015

President Kagame today hosted the 9th Northern Corridor Integration Projects Summit attended by President Museveni of Uganda, President Kenyatta of Kenya, President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan and President Kikwete of Tanzania. Both Vice President Gervais Rufyikiri of Burundi represented his Head of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tedros Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia represented their Heads of State.

Opening the summit, President Kagame encouraged all leaders to sustain their commitment to accelerate integration:

“The results we have achieved together so far should motivate us to do more and faster. With political will and prompt follow-through, we can achieve the tangible results the people of our region need and deserve,” President Kagame added.

President Kenyatta reiterated the goal of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects Summit:

“Our sole purpose is to see how through greater connectivity we can improve our ability to trade with each other and pull our people together as East Africans in order to make our region prosperous.”

 

President Kenyatta added that integration could lead to an economically strong region of middle-income countries that can take its place as a global player.

The 9th Northern Corridor Summit highlighted the progress made since the first summit including the one custom area, the ability for tourists to travel to Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda with one visa, the increased volume of calls across the region due to the establishment of the One Network Area as well as the progress in infrastructure and energy projects.

The summit marked the beginning of Burundi’s full participatory membership into NCIP and welcomed South Sudan as part of the single customs territory.

Key resolutions adopted include speeding up the implementation of the Standard Gauge Railway including attracting private sector investment, fighting emergence of non-tariff barriers and the formation of the Comprehensive Conflict and Dispute Resolution Mechanism.

The 10th Northern Corridor Integration Projects Summit is set to be hosted by President Museveni in Uganda within the next two months.