6th Annual Secretary General's Forum for Private Sector, Civil Society and other interest groups set for 23 - 24 July 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 18th July, 2018: The 6th Annual EAC Secretary General’s Forum themed Strategizing for impact: People-Centred and Market-Driven Integration is scheduled to take place from 23rd to 24th July 2018 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.
About 100 delegates have confirmed participating in the SG’s Forum and they will be drawn from the Partner States’ Private Sector Organizations (PSOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), professional bodies, Academia/Universities, Media, EAC Organs and Institutions, Development Partners and Other Interest Groups.
The Forum aims to provide a platform for regular dialogue between the EAC Secretary General and the Private Sector, Civil Society and other interest groups on how to improve the EAC integration process. The annual Forum is convened by the EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the Regional Dialogue Committee (RDC) which is comprised of membership drawn from Partners States which include the Private Sector, Civil Society, Representatives of Government and regional Private Sector, Civil Society, Trade Union, Employer and Professional Associations/Bodies.
The 6th Annual SG’s Forum will review the work plan and progress Reports on the Consultative Dialogue Framework (CDF) for Private Sector, Civil Society and other interest groups, which was adopted by the 26th Meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers; consider translating SG’s Forum Resolutions to Policy; define success stories of the Dialogue Process; and consider Sustainability of the Consultative Dialogue Framework by redefining the Roles of the Dialogue Parties.
Since the adoption of the CDF, five Annual EAC Secretary General’s Forums have been held. The first Forum took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in December, 2012, with the theme: “Review of Implementation of The EAC Common Market”; The Second was in Nairobi, Kenya in October, 2013 and themed “The EAC We Want”; The third was held in Entebbe September, 2014 under the theme “EAC: My Home, My Business”; The Fourth Forum was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in March 2016, under the theme “Good Governance and Constitutionalism in the East African Community”; and the fifth forum was held in June 2017 in Bujumbura, Burundi, under the theme: “15 Years of The EAC: Towards a Borderless Community”.
Note to Editors
The Dialogue Framework Forum for Private Sector, Civil Society and other interest groups in the EAC integration process was endorsed by the EAC Council of Ministers at its 26th meeting in November 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Article 127 (4) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community provides that: “ The Secretary General shall provide the forum for consultations between the private sector, civil society organizations, other interest groups and appropriate institutions of the Community”, while Article 129 (2) requests the Council to “establish modalities that would enable the business organizations or associations, professional bodies and the civil society in the Partner States to contribute effectively to the development of the Community.”
The Forum is guided by the principles of cooperation for mutual benefit, trust, goodwill, active and constructive participation, inclusivity and respect for diverse views, among others.
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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