Northern Corridor Member States committed to the implementation of Single Customs Territory and the African CFTA
The 30th meeting of Council of Ministers and the 45th Executive Committee meeting of the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) held from 30 July to 3rd August 2018 at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort in Mombasa, Kenya; under the theme: “Harmonizing Trade and Transport Policies for a Competitive Corridor”, commended the current trade facilitation and integration initiatives and urged all Member States of the Corridor to commit to the implementation of the Single Customs Territory and work towards implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (African CFTA).
The Council of Ministers also emphasised the importance of the Northern Corridor Transport route and the role it plays in promoting international trade and regional integration.
The NCTTCA Policy Organs meetings also laudedthe efforts and the progress made by Member States in developing and improvingregional transport infrastructure such as One Stop Border Posts, the Standard Gauge Railway and the Oil pipeline.
They commended the Democratic Republic of Congo’s political will to join the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) Initiatives championed by the Heads of States and its commitment to promote the Standard Gauge Railway as part of its transport infrastructure programs.
The Northern Corridor Policy Organs members re-affirmed the commitment of their respective countries towards integrating the Road Side Stations Program in Transport Infrastructure Development along the Northern Corridor highways and further directed the Northern Corridor Secretariat to Promote Road Safety along the Northern Corridor Region in collaboration with Member States and Safe Way Right Way, a non-governmental organization based in Kenya.
The organs further directed the NCTTCA Secretariat to expeditiously roll out the Road Side Stations program and set up National Multi-Sectoral Task Forces in collaboration with all the Member States and tasked the Secretariat to fast track the signing of the Bilateral Agreements on development of One Stop Border Posts (OSBP) along the Northern Corridor whose feasibility studies and engineering designs have been completed.