THE 28th Annual Research Workshop which has attracted more than 200 participants in Arusha is set to to kuck off here tomorrow and address ways of making East African countries penetrate global markets when it comes to trade, business and manufacturing.

John Simbachawene, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, unveiled this here yesterday when speaking ahead of the three-day workshop, adding that Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Dr Doto Biteko is scheduled to grace the opening. 

He said that six institutions have joined hands to host the ARW from tomorrow to Thursday under the theme ‘Pursuit for Sustained Growth and Trade Expansion’.

Organized by non-governmental organisation that conducts research and advocacy on development issues in Tanzania REPOA, the ARW takes in collaboration with Ministry of Industry and Trade, the East African Legislative Assembly, the East African Community Secretariat, the CRDB Bank, TradeMark Africa, Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA), and the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT).

Participants were strategically selected to represent relevant stakeholders from Tanzania, EAC member states and regional and continental economic communities and development agencies.

The workshop also offers a timely review of the implementation progress of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the underlying regional trade and economic integration frameworks plus economic and trade cooperation between the global north and the global south.

Dr Donald Mmari, REPOA executive director, said trade interacts in a complex but complementary ways with other national policies requiring coherent policies and approaches.

“Mainstreaming trade and trade policies into national and regional development strategies requires systematic cultivation of mutually reinforcing policies cutting across government departments, agencies and countries as well as the private sector and the donor community to create synergies in support of sustainable development goals,” he said.