Ethiopia and Kenya have signed what is described as on” Simplified Trade Border Regime” agreement, aiming to enhance cross-border trade between the two neighboring countries.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said over the weekend that, Kassauhun Gofe, Ethiopia’s Minister for Trade and Regional Integration, and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade, and Industry, Lee Kinyanjui, signed the agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.
The agreement followed a meeting organized in Kenya’s resort city Mombasa in April this year, emphasizing the need to enhance the cross border trade between the two east Africans nations.
“The accord will simplify and facilitate small-scale cross-border trade and create favorable conditions for sustainable, harmonious, and healthy development of the formal border trade to further strengthen and expand trade relations between the two countries,” the ministry’s statement read.
It is anticipated that communities – particularly small scale traders – on both sides of the border will benefit from the agreement as it will be easing red tapes and regulations in the cross border communities.
Custom procedure and paperwork requirements will be eased as part of the Simplified Trade Border Regime” (STBR).
The ministers reportedly underscored the importance of cross-border trade as a cornerstone for the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
MG/abj/APA