Moroni — The growth rate of Eastern African countries has been among the fastest in the world in recent years, averaging 6.8% between 2012 and 2015. However, in 2016 and 2017, the regional growth rate declined to 5.6 percent. Moreover, the evolution of per capita income growth has been much more modest while instability has increased.
How can we consolidate the strong performance of the region while ensuring the economic transformation needed to reduce poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals? These are the questions to be discussed by experts from 14 Eastern African countries during the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE), which meets from 7th to 9th November in Moroni, Comoros.
The meeting, organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in partnership with the Government of Comoros and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) country team, will focus on different sectors that constitute either catalysts or constraints to growth and structural transformation.
The expansion of the tourism sector, the vast potential of the Blue Economy and recent large-scale investments in infrastructure represent some of the main opportunities to be discussed. At the same time, experts will try to propose solutions to tackle the relative weakness of the private sector, the lack of credit flowing from the banking sector and the challenges of exchange rate management.
Andrew Mold, the Acting Director of the ECA Subregional Office in Eastern Africa notes that "This will constitute an excellent opportunity for experts from the region to discuss some of the major bottlenecks and catalysts for growth. There is also a special session dedicated to discussing the development trajectory of host country, during which ECA's Comoros Profile will be presented. The session will focus on the country's long-term growth strategy, and opportunities in the tourism and energy sectors."
ECA hopes that the meeting will lead to a consensus on best practices and policies to consolidate transformative growth in Eastern Africa.
