President William Ruto will leave the country on Friday, November 29, to attend an East African Community (EAC) summit in Arusha, Tanzania.
Speaking on Thursday, during the African Special Economic Zones (SEZs) annual meeting at KICC, Nairobi, President Ruto confirmed that he will attend the summit.
The president disclosed that during the summit, which will be attended by EAC Heads of State, discussions will be held on how to improve the business environment in the region.
“The East African Community (EAC) has adopted a unified Special Economic Zones (SEZ) policy to harmonize the treatment of goods produced within these zones. Among the assignments I will be having tomorrow, where we have our EAC summit, is to look at the business environment.
"Tomorrow in Arusha, the Heads of State from EAC will be meeting and among the targets we will be looking at is how to improve the business environment and how to integrate our economies more. The item of SEZs that was agreed on by our ministers is going to be approved at the summit," President Ruto remarked.
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At the same time, he noted that according to the recently approved EAC Special Economic Zone regulation, EAC member states will enjoy free movement of goods across the region.
“Accordingly, the recently approved EAC SEZs regulation of 2024 will ensure the free movement of goods across member states, bolstering regional integration and positioning economic zones as catalysts for industrialization and growth,” President Ruto stated.
The president further encouraged African investors to invest in their countries so that Africa can achieve inclusive growth.
"Investors must not necessarily be white or foreign. You find many African business people investing their hard-earned money in other continents because they do not have as much faith in our continent. I think it's time that Africans first and foremost believe in themselves and invest in their countries before we ask others to invest in our countries and in our continent," he explained.
