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EU reaffirms support for Africa`s economic growth
2008-05-10 10:58:50
By Guardian Reporter
The European Union on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Africa boost its business environment with a view to helping it sustain economic growth.
This was contained in a closure statement issued by the European Commission delegation in the country at the end of an international conference on Agro-Industry, 2008 held in Dar es Salaam under the auspicies of EU-SADC Investment Promotion Programme (ESIPP).
``Europe wants to see an improved business climate and sustained economic growth.
This is not only in the interest of the Southern African Development Community and the East African Community but also in the interest of the European Union,`` said EC`s Export Help Desk coordinator Maryse Coutsouradis.
The EC official also underlined the link between business growth, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the achievement of poverty reduction goals in the region.
``The reduction of poverty is a shared ambition. We all know that export-led growth is one of the key ways to sustain government revenue and to deliver effective social services,`` said Coutsouradis, adding:
``This combined approach is reflected in the European Union`s external policies which place trade and development firmly together in a single package.``
The meeting, which was opened by Vice-President Dr Ali Mohammed Shein, aimed at promoting sustainable trade, business and investment partnerships between enterprises in the SADC region and the EU) as well as across the world.
The EC expressed optimizing over the event, as many such meetings had led to the formation of business partnerships in the areas of cereals, horticulture, dairy, fisheries, organic farming and bio-fuels.
Coutsouradis also stressed the importance of agriculture in the region, with the EC committing itself to building on investments in the tea, coffee, cotton and sugar sectors.
``In particular, the EC`s new Country Programme for Tanzania was launched on Wednesday.
This contains a specific trade and agriculture initiative worth nearly 100m/-,`` said the EC official.
Coutsouradis added that in addition to national support, the EC would also grant substantial assistance to agriculture, food security and agricultural trade at the SADC regional level.
ESIPP is an EU- SADC partnership programme for the promotion of investment and technology flows to enterprises operating within key growth sectors in the SADC member states.
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