German Foreign Minister tours EAC Headquarters in Arusha
East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 4th May, 2018:
German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass today toured the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzanian.
Hon. Mass who was on a working visit to Tanzania held bilateral talks with EAC Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko. The two leaders discussed development cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the EAC on regional economic integration, health, water, and institutional strengthening of the EAC Secretariat.
Addressing a media briefing after the meeting, Amb. Mfumukeko said that relations between Germany and the EAC have been strong for the past two decades.
Amb. Mfumukeko disclosed that Germany had supported the EAC to the tune of 290 million euros including funding the construction of the EAC Headquarters.
The Secretary General said that on 9th April, 2018, the EAC and Germany signed a financing agreement of 5 million euros for the EAC Scholarship Programme in Berlin.
“The scholarship programme will be implemented in cooperation with Inter-University Council of East Africa and KfW, the German Development Bank. The objective of this programme is to promote EAC’s regional integration agenda by supporting higher education students and their role in fostering awareness for the East African integration, promoting social change as well as economic growth,” he said.
The financial agreement for the scholarship programme was part of the 35 million euros that will go towards supporting regional immunization.
The Secretary General further revealed that Germany’s had since 2013 contributed 120 million euros to fight child mortality through the immunization programme in the EAC.
“So far more than 60 million euros has been spent on Rota Virus, Pneumococcal and Pentavalent vaccines in the EAC Partner States. Also, many children have been vaccinated against the biggest killers of children, namely diaorrhea and pneumonia,” he said.
He said EAC and Germany were finalizing an agreement of 5 million euros to support the small and micro enterprises sector in East Africa.
“The aim of the project is to improve opportunities for growth for small and medium sized enterprises in East Africa. The project will be implemented in collaboration with GIZ, the German Technical Cooperation Agency, and the East African Business Council, the apex body of private sector organisations in East Africa.
Accompanying the Secretary General at the meeting with the German Foreign Minister were the EAC Deputy Secretaries General Hon. Christophe Bazivamo (Productive and Social Sectors) and Eng. Steven Mlote (Planning and Infrastructure).
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified