EAC, U.S. sign 194 mln USD partnership agreement

The East African Community (EAC) and the U.S. government on Wednesday launched a Regional Development Objectives Grant Agreement at the EAC headquarter in northern Tanzania's tourism city of Arusha.

On behalf of the U.S. Government, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will contribute approximately 194 million U.S. dollars over a five-year period to shared development goals, deepening the partnership between the two organizations.

About 30 million dollars will directly support the EAC Secretariat, while the remainder will fund other regional actors in their efforts to advance the EAC regional integration agenda.

Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy to Tanzania and the EAC, Virginia Blaser, USAID Mission Director for Kenya and East Africa, Karen Freeman, and EAC Secretary General Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko signed a memorandum of acknowledgment to affirm the agreement.

Blaser noted the tremendous value of fostering regional cooperation, saying that the United States supports "governments and regional bodies such as the EAC in their collaborative efforts to unlock this region's full potential for the benefit of its people."

Freeman emphasized the joint achievements of the EAC and USAID over the past two decades. "By simplifying customs and border procedures, we have facilitated faster, more affordable and predictable trade. We have increased investment by facilitating the closure of more international deals, which are expanding local industries and manufacturing." Endit