East Africa to Gain From Brexit Fallout

The United Kingdom has promised to strengthen trade and investment links with the East African Community Partner States for mutual benefit.

UK High Commissioner to Tanzania, Ms Sarah Cooke, said that her country would remain an outward focused trade-based economy with strong partnerships with other countries and regional economic blocs even in the wake of Brexit.

The high commissioner was speaking after she presented her credentials to the EAC Secretary General, Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko, at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha. Ms Cooke said the UK would create new partnerships with the EAC aimed at promoting private sector-led economic growth for employment creation and poverty reduction in the East African region.

The envoy disclosed that the UK was the biggest contributor to Trade- Mark East Africa (TMEA), adding that the funding to TMEA was being utilised to finance technical assistance to the EAC in sectors such as customs, trade, investment and video teleconferencing.

On his side, Amb. Mfumukeko said his priorities over the next four years would be to promote the free movement of persons and labour as enshrined in the EAC Common Market Protocol; increase investment for job creation and improve agriculture to ensure food security and create employment for the youth in East Africa.