 Secretariat will travel to Juba on Sunday 11th to 16th September 2022,){kind=link}
A delegation from the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI) Secretariat will travel to Juba on Sunday 11th to 16th September 2022, to complete the onboarding process of Republic of South Sudan into the Horn of Africa Initiative.
The delegation will be composed of Mr. Iradj Alikhani, Team Leader, Mr. Danilo Desiderio, Trade Expert, and Mr. Guyo Haro, National Adviser to the Head of the Secretariat. The HoAI team will meet with the designated national Focal Point at the Ministry of Finance and Planning, as well as other senior officials and key stakeholders from the government sector.
The main purpose of the meetings is to establish formal contacts and work relationships for a quick and effective integration of the country into the HoAI agenda. The delegation will subsequently seek to align Republic of South Sudan’s priorities, on what membership portends for the nation, vis a vis those of the HoAI programme, by engaging in deeper consultation and collating views.
A rapid assessment of the trade environment in Republic of South Sudan will also be part of the visit, in view of the inclusion of the country in the HoAI Regional Trade Facilitation roadmap. This assessment broadly will involve an analysis of the Republic of South Sudan’s trade policy and of the trade facilitation initiatives already being implemented at national level, and note existing challenges that hamper trade in the region.
The HoAI was established in 2019, by the Ministers for Finance of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya for promoting convergence among the national policies of such countries and achieve deeper regional cooperation and market integration in the Horn of Africa. The initiative seeks to foster strong development partnerships in economic, infrastructure, social and human development.
The Republic of South Sudan’s admission to the HoAI was unanimously welcomed by the current members of the Initiative during the 12th Ministers of Finance Meeting held in Washington, USA, on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF Spring meeting on April 21st, 2022. Republic of South Sudan now joins Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia in the Horn of Africa Initiative.
Republic of South Sudan’s membership to the HoAI is expected to bring further prospects of economic growth, stability and resilience building in the Region.
Kenya is currently, the rotating Chair of the Horn of Africa Initiative with the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Planning, Amb. Ukur Yatani at the helm as Chairperson. Kenya which took over the chair from Djibouti with effect from mid-December 2021, also hosts the HoAI Secretariat, which is charged with providing day-to-day policy and technical-level coordination.
The Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI) is a compact of the Finance Ministers of the Horn of Africa countries – Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan. The HoAI is a country driven initiative, established in 2019.
Source: HoAI