Ministers of Horn of Africa Initiative Discuss on Economic Integration, Regional Cooperation

Addis Ababa April 22/2022/ENA/ The finance ministers of the Horn of Africa Initiative have held ministerial meeting to review progress and discuss on further strengthening economic integration and regional cooperation.

According to  a statement issued by Horn of Africa Initiative the meeting was held on the sidelines of the 2022 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group in Washington DC on Wednesday.

The ministers recognized that much has changed in terms of project investment financing and policy and regulatory harmonization, since the Initiative was launched in 2019.  

The Horn of Africa has, however, continued to face complex political, climate change, humanitarian challenges and the conflict in Ukraine is also having a sizable impact on inflationary pressure by distorting the food supply chain.

Ethiopia’s Finance Minister, Ahmed Shide said that the Horn of Africa has got capacities and capabilities to overcome the current challenges and bounce back better and stronger on the road to regional prosperity.

"We have either completed or entered the negotiation stage for four projects incorporated in the resilience pillar amounting 420 million USD from the three partners that are keen to complement existing sustainable interventions to climate change, in drought prone areas," he added speaking about the progress of Horn of Africa Initiative projects.

During the meeting, the finance ministers have shared perspectives on how to respond to common challenges specifically how to respond to current food security and the prevailing disasters in the region, according to the statement.

The Ministers have also endorsed a recommendation for priority areas for trade facilitation and power trade collaboration in the Horn of Africa region.  

Represented by the Minister of Finance, South Sudan has also attended the ministerial meeting for the first time as an observer and finally become a member of the Horn of Africa Initiative.

The Horn of Africa initiative was created in 2019 to promote regional economic integration as a way to foster peace, stability and sustainable development in the region.