The United States Expands Agreement with EAC for Regional Integration and Development

The U.S. Government, represented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the East African Community concluded the Assistance Agreement for Comprehensive Regional Development with the East African Community (EAC) to promote increased regional economic integration and development.  The agreement was signed September 21 at the American Embassy in Dar es Salaam by U.S. Ambassador to the East African Community Alfonso E. Lenhardt, USAID Regional Director Larry Meserve, and Ambassador Juma V. Mwapachu, Secretary General of the East African Community.

Under this Agreement, the American people intend to provide approximately $7 million to the EAC through September 2012 – a doubling of previously planned assistance.  Ambassador Lenhardt said the agreement represented U.S. commitment to seeing EAC succeed in its efforts to remove barriers to the movement of people, investment and services in the region: "The agreement we are signing today raises expectations about achieving our mutual goals of completing the implementation of the Customs Union Protocol and accelerating the regional integration process."

Approximately $3.3 million of this $7.0 million Agreement has been provided to date to help implement the EAC Customs Union and Common Market, reduce the cost of transit in the region, increase access to clean water and sanitation, and protect biodiversity in the Mara River Basin through the EAC’s Lake Victoria Basin Commission.