EAC - CUTS International Geneva to enhance cooperation
The EAC Director for Productive Sector, Mr. Jean Baptiste Havugimana held bilateral talks on Wednesday 9th November 2016 with the Executive Director of the Geneva-based Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) International, Mr. Rashid S. Kaukab on the sidelines of the ongoing 22nd Session of the Conference of Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 12th Meeting of Parties to Kyoto Protocol (CMP12) taking place in Bab Ighli in Marrakech, Morocco.
The two officials explored further areas of cooperation, alongside the EAC Geneva Trade and Climate Change Forum. Currently CUTS runs a bi-monthly forums of East African trade negotiators to support their informed and concerted participation on issues of their interest in World Trade Organization (WTO) debates. Besides CUTS’ technical analysis and on-demand papers, negotiators benefit from country updates providing a snapshot of the current on the ground realities of the issue.
CUTS also intend to establish the EAC Climate Change Forum for regular online meetings of East African Climate Change negotiators. Each meeting will be serviced by a technical paper and country updates. It is intended that once a year, climate negotiators will meet with trade delegates of the EAC Geneva Forum for a Trade and Climate Change Coordination Forum.
Related to this, CUTS International Geneva in collaboration with CUTS ARC Nairobi is initiating a project known as PACT EAC2 that is aimed at building the capacity of individuals, networks, and institutions to identify and promote appropriate policies for climate-aware, trade-oriented, food security-enhancing agro-value-addition in the EAC region
CUTS has also initiated a project that aims at promoting the energy sector and during the talks, the Executive Director offered to look at how they can partner with the EAC towards sustainable energy sectors in the region especially in the area of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The EAC and CUTS officials agreed to build on the discussions held and revitalize the existing collaboration between the two institutions and a standing arrangement made to ensure that among the aforementioned programmes the most relevant to the EAC region are identified and areas of collaboration agreed upon.