The event was opened by Nils Wörmer, Director RP SIPODI-EA, who welcomed the participants and emphasised the close interconnection between politics and economics. He underlined that the terminologies’ geoeconomics, geopolitics and geostrategic which are now prominently used in academic discussions need to be understood and applied within the reality of East Africa.
The panel discussion was moderated by Leah Eryenyu, Team Lead, Learning Initiative at the Collaborative for Gender Just Economy. Raymond Mujuni, Deputy Director, African Institute for Investigative Journalism, presented a research brief on the subject. He highlighted how rapid economic growth in East Africa is placing increasing pressure on both political systems and technical capacities across the region. While this growth presents great opportunities, it also reveals significant structural challenges, especially for half of the EAC countries that are landlocked. The dependency by these landlocked countries on neighboring coastal countries for access to international markets makes regional integration essential, yet difficult. He further emphasized that ports in Kenya and Tanzania which serve as gateways for trade, are already operating at or beyond capacity and may no longer be able to handle the volume of exports from their landlocked neighbours within a year if the current growth rate is sustained. This creates a strategic economic incentive for coastal states to invest in regional stability and infrastructure development. Whereas European countries remain major consumers of African exports, the political and economic orientation of many African states is shifting, with growing ties to countries like China, UAE and Qatar. These evolving trade relationships will shape the continent's future development and global positioning.
The research presentation was followed by commentary from Angelo Izama, analyst, journalist and strategist, Daniel Bwambale, Senior Principal Magistrate, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Andrew Rugasira, Senior Economist and businessman. The discussion highlighted the need for East African Countries to cooperate rather than compete, especially in infrastructure development. Joint projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline and the Standard Gauge Railway were presented as some of the key joint infrastructure endeavours that the region should uphold. Speakers stressed the need to diversify export routes and logistical corridors including investment in aviation, inland dry ports and economic zones to reduce over-dependence on Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and enhance economic stability. They further called for political stability and investment in digital economic solutions to reduce the cost of doing business in the region.
These submissions were followed by an open discussion among the participants, who commented on the topics as they asked the panelists questions.Leah Eryenyu, the moderator, concluded that a clear gap exists between the EAC’s ambitions and current realities, shaped by economic pressures, political tensions and infrastructural shortcomings, which must be urgently addressed to enable meaningful regional progress.
The event was concluded with a dinner reception, allowing for continued informal exchanges and networking among the participants.
About this series
The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, its educational institutions, centres and foreign offices, offer several thousand events on various subjects each year. We provide up to date and exclusive reports on selected conferences, events and symposia at www.kas.de. In addition to a summary of the contents, you can also find additional material such as pictures, speeches, videos or audio clips.