Achieving regional integration is a key to meet the growing demand development. In the Horn of Africa where infrastructure is scarce, fostering integration is the magic bullet to spur growth in the region. Every nation in the region must play a role in creating a better environment for one another in terms of socio-economic well-being.
Cognizant to the umbrella 2063 Agenda of the African Union, regional blocs of the continent have been designing their agenda suitable to their geopolitical area. The Horn of Africa, in particular, has been working on bringing a sense of brotherhood and co-existence among the regional countries to resolve their common challenges. To achieve the sought-after objectives, countries in the region have started implementing some bold activities in relation to developing infrastructure and economic partnerships with one another.
There are some specific strides that nations in the Horn have taken in the past few years. The recent agreement between Ethiopia and its counterpart South Sudan to develop infrastructures like the construction of a road that connects the two countries can foster the two nations’ overall partnership. And, it is also a leap forward to integration.
As Ethiopia is one of the largest nations in Africa in terms of its economy, geographic cover area, and population, the country shares its borders with six different neighbouring nations. Such a bond of connection pushes Ethiopia to exert its maximum effort to develop connectivity.
The nation has been a bold player in the region to foster regional integration. A simple example that Ethiopia has been doing could be its initiative to address the power demand of the region through its gigantic electric power plants such as the Abbay Dam. It distributes electric power to its neighboring nations though some are not even able to pay their bills. Ethiopia is also a pioneer in providing standard transport services through its flag carrier, the Ethiopian Airlines.
On top of that, all the actions taken to enhance the connection among regional states in infrastructure, energy, and other things lead to a more comprehensive way of doing business and socio-economic partnership. To this end, Ethiopia is now working on the African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to be effective in the nearest possible time.
In fact, AfCFTA is an arrangement between two or more countries which seeks to create conditions for the free flow of trade amongst themselves. As to documents, the AfCFTA is designed to establish an integrated African market that enables the free flow of goods and services across Africa’s internal borders. It also aims to boost the continent’s trading position in global markets.
Making the road to regional integration smooth, Ethiopia took paramount steps. It fosters the region in trade connections through initiatives like AfCFTA. As such initiative needs infrastructure, Ethiopia leads the way in enhancing its infrastructural connectivity among the regional nations. To become a hub of economic and trading fairs, countries like Ethiopia make sure that they provide the necessary infrastructures for their customers to trade easily.
In the past few years, the government of Ethiopia has been working tirelessly on infrastructure, both internal and trans-boundary. The country has been working with Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, and many others regarding transport and energy sectors. Ethiopia’s commitment is still at its peak to put its fingerprint on regional integrity. Such acts of commitment reciprocate Ethiopia with numerous economic advantages in the coming few years.
Accordingly, having stayed with local media, Melaku Desta, African Trade Policy Center Coordinator at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), stated that Ethiopia is actively pushing for regional integration not only in terms of trade but also several areas such as infrastructure and energy; and it can be described as even a leader of the African integration journey. Ethiopia can be seen as an active participant and a leader in the journey towards African integration.
This involves efforts to improve and expand physical connectivity such as roads, railways, ports, and energy networks that link Ethiopia with its neighbouring countries and the broader region. By investing in and enhancing infrastructure, Ethiopia aims to facilitate smoother trade flows, foster economic cooperation, and strengthen political ties with its regional neighbours, Melaku elaborated.
He further explained that historically, Ethiopia has not been extensively engaged in regional integration efforts. Its approach to such initiatives has often been characterized as reluctant. However, over the past six years, Ethiopia has significantly shifted its stance on regional integration by actively leading both the negotiations and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
“Ethiopia is actively pushing for regional integration not only in terms of trade but also in several areas in terms of infrastructure, energy trading and others. I think right now, Ethiopia can be described as an active participant and even a leader of the African integration journey”
Participation and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offer immense benefits to Ethiopia, he noted. The AfCFTA aims to create a favourable business environment for Ethiopian businesses within the country and to unlock market opportunities across the entire continent, which comprises 1.4 billion people with a collective spending capacity exceeding 3 trillion US dollars. Accordingly, companies deciding to invest in Ethiopia and establish a production plant can benefit significantly.
They are not limited to the capacity of the Ethiopian market alone, the coordinator said, adding that through the AfCFTA, they can produce goods for a vast market across Africa without facing restrictions, duties, tariffs, or other barriers such as quantitative restrictions or quotas.
For his part, Yonas Bekele, Transport and Infrastructure Economist at ECA, emphasized that infrastructure integration in Africa is now more crucial than ever.
It serves to recalibrate Africa’s growth strategy by boosting intra-regional trade, Yonas added, “We know that infrastructure development and integration can act as a catalyst for trade innovation and income improvement in the continent. But the importance of infrastructure development for intra-regional or integration in the continent has been duly recognized by our member states, including Ethiopia.”
“Ethiopian infrastructure success includes, developing Ethiopian airlines, upgrading the network of trunk roads, rapidly expanding access to water and sanitation, including the ongoing corridor development that elevates the city’s reputation serve as a cornerstone for the construction of the modern urban centre,” according to Yonas.
BY DANIEL ALEMAYEHU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 17 JULY 2024
