EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme launches communication tools

The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of East African Community Affairs of Kenya, Mrs Margaret Chemingech and Amb Jean Rigi, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of EAC Affairs, Burundi jointly hit the button that launched the EAC MARKUP web site.

Mr Kenneth Bagamuhunda, EAC Director General Customs explained the interventions of the project. He underlined the importance of supporting regional value chains in the agriculture sector and improving product quality and competitiveness.

Dr Kirsten Focken, Programme Manager of the German Development Cooperation programme, implemented by GIZ, pointed out the role of GIZ which is the coordination of the implementation including communication and monitoring & evaluation. She further explained that the website is important for the visibility, sharing experiences and serves as a a platform to showcase interventions, results and impact.’

Mr Jocelin Cornet, Team Leader, Regional Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Tanzania congratulated all players for the achievements and thanked the EAC Secretariat for steering and guiding the implementation of the project. He said, ‘EU EAC MARKUP is part of the EU’s efforts towards integration in Africa and this new website is of great importance for the exchange of information and coordination of MARKUP.’

The EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme

Jointly designed by the European Union (EU), the EAC Secretariat and the governments of Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya, the initiative is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and other national partners. This four-year programme is funded from the Regional Indicative Programme for EAC under the 11th European Development Fund.

EU-EAC MARKUP aims at removing trade barriers for East African small and medium companies and expanding their markets for coffee, tea, cocoa, selected spices and horticultural products in East Africa as well as in European markets. This will be achieved through supporting the private sector, business support institutions and policy makers in the Partner States and at the EAC Secretariat.

EU-EAC MARKUP was inaugurated on 20th of June 2018 in a signing ceremony at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha. It is now on the ground in the five Partner States of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, strengthening SMEs and sector associations, supporting harmonisation of standards and SPS measures, and equipping trade support institutions to deliver better quality services.

More information is available at: www.eacmarkup.org