Kigali, October 27, 2021: More than 100 decision-makers and economic stakeholders today gathered in Kigali for a 3-day conference to discuss the road to social and economic recovery and how to attract investments in East Africa. 

Commonly known as the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE), the meeting is an annual gathering of the office for Eastern Africa of the UN Economic Commission in Africa (UNECA) organized in collaboration with the finance ministry of the hosting nation, which is this case is the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

The 25th session of ICSOE is organized under theme “Strengthening resilience for a strong recovery and attracting investments to foster economic diversification and long-term growth in Eastern Africa”, is a reflection of member state efforts to recover and rebuilding better given the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic impact of member states. 

Presiding at the opening of ICSOE conference, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning said the convention was timely and pertinent as countries strive to recover for the effects of COVID-19 which have pushed most economies into recession.

“Despite the devastating impact of COVID-19, on health of our population and economies, we still have great potential for growth in Africa in general and in our region in particular. We need to work harder and smarter to recover faster and build back better,” Minister Ndagijimana said.

The Executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Vera Songwe noted that in 2020, the economy in Eastern Africa shrunk for the first time in decades with the agricultural sector was not spared, facing weather-related shocks and the biggest desert locust invasion in 70 years, leading to loss of millions of jobs.

“So far in 2021, while the situation is largely the same, we were correct in our optimism. Early projections suggest that the sub-region’s economy will expand by 3% this year, with certain economies such as Djibouti, Eritrea, Rwanda and Uganda rebounding by over 4%,” Ms Songwe said.

Participants at the conference are expected to discuss thematic issues such as adaptation strategies to maintain the resilience of economies; the conditions for attracting investment; deepen regional value chains; and the links between peace and security, development and human rights.

The sub regional office for East Africa of UNECA serves 14 countries: Burundi, Comores, RD Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.