Germany pledges Euros 64 million in extending country partnership with East African Community
Nairobi, Kenya
Germany has just pledged Euros 64 million for extending the partnership with the East African community for various sectors of cooperation in the next three years until 2027.
From the grants, Euro 36 million will be committed in the area of sustainable economic development, training and employment, to further support regional economic integration, digital skills and research in Artificial Intelligence.
It will also focus on strengthening regionalisation and female empowerment in health professional training as well as trade infrastructure development.
In upscaling support to pandemic preparedness and combating communicable diseases in East Africa, Germany disbursed Euros 23 million, while for strengthening environmental conservation and enhancing management of nature-based solutions, Germany dedicated Euros 5 million.
The East African Community Secretary General, Veronica Nduva, and the Head of the German Delegation and Director for East Africa in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Marcus von Essen, signed the summary record of the EAC-German negotiations following fruitful discussions between both parties on priorities for development cooperation in the upcoming years.
The signing took place during the German African Business Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, which brought together more than 100 representatives from Germany and the private sector in East Africa.
Germany congratulated the East African Community for the improvement of intra-regional trade and affirming the community as a bloc within the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Regarding the role of the private sector and civil society in regional integration, Mr. von Essen welcomed the invitation of the EAC Secretariat to the Secretary General’s Forum describing it as a tool for engagement as foreseen in the EAC Consultative Dialogue Framework in December 2024.
The EAC Secretary General expressed appreciation to the German government for its continued support to regional integration in East Africa, which has led to technical and financial support of more than Euros 600 million over the last 26 years.
In view of the regional outbreaks of infectious diseases in the last two years and current outbreaks of Mpox and Marburg Virus with devastating effects on health, livelihoods and intra-regional trade, both sides emphasised the importance of strengthening regional capacities in the health sector.
Against this background, EAC and Germany reaffirmed their collaboration in pandemic prevention and rapid response.
Following on EAC’s successful participation in the UN Climate Change Conference, Germany lauded the community on establishing a regional position at COP29.
As flooding and droughts are hampering human development in the region both sides emphasised that cooperation for integrated water resource management will remain a key area of support.
About the EAC
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising eight Partner States: the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Federal Republic of Somalia. The EAC promotes sustainable development and regional integration across sectors such as trade, infrastructure, and health.
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) steers and finances Germany’s development efforts in collaboration with global partners in civil society, the private sector, multilateral organisations, bilateral partner countries, and regional economic communities. Since 1999, Germany has committed over 600 million Euros in development cooperation with the EAC, supporting the community’s integration agenda.