Northern Corridor summit to focus on private sector

The tenth summit for the Northern Corridor Integration Project (NCIP) is set to take place in Kampala, Uganda neext week with a special focus on how to actively involve the private sector in the integration projects. The summit, expected to be attended by at least four Heads of State on June 6, is aimed at assessing the implementation status of all the projects launched under the NCIP framework. James Mugume, the Permanent Secretary in Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters in Kampala yesterday, they will initiate a process to actively engage the Private Sector to invest in the integration projects. “This is a new relationship and we shall seek to learn from them what their contribution will be in these projects that we are carrying out,” he said. Mugume said the summit will also be preceded by a business forum on June 4. The forum will attract over 300 members of the business communities of Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan. A report from the forum of the private sector will be handed over to a ministers’ meeting which will also precede the Heads of State summit. Mugume added: “We shall have a working dinner on June 5th where the private sector will exchange views with the Heads of State.” Among other activities on the agenda is the signing of the agreement on total liberalisation of labour and services. According to Mugume, this has for long been an area of contention yet it’s generally highly regarded as the engine of all agreements so far reached under the northern corridor arrangement. “We have very big projects that cut across our countries in the region. These projects need technical people to move across the borders freely. So this will enable us have one area of trade and investment,” he said.An agreement on cyber security will also be signed. Among the key resolutions adopted in the last 9th summit held in Kigali earlier this year, include; speeding up the implementation of the Standard Gauge Railway including attracting private sector investment, fighting emergence of non-tariff barriers and the formation of the Comprehensive Conflict and Dispute Resolution Mechanism. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Northern Corridor summit to focus on private sector