President Kenyatta who left here Thursday will join his counterparts from Rwanda and Uganda -- Presidents Paul Kagame and Yoweri Museveni -- to review progress of implementation of projects under the NCIP which are aimed at facilitating trade and development within the East African region.
Other Presidents who are expected to attend the summit are Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi and South Sudan's Salva Kiir.
Under the initiative, the participating states from the East African Community (EAC) are fast-tracking regional development through joint infrastructure, trade, political and economic integration. The five member States of EAC are Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi while South Sudan is in the final stage of joining the economic bloc.
With a population of more than 150 million people, the region is a huge potential economic powerhouse and the objective of the integration process is to enable member states and citizens to reap benefits from unhindered trade.
President Kenyatta has been at the forefront in pushing for the integration of the East African region into a single trading bloc. For the duration he has been the chairman of the EAC, the region has made great strides in removing trade barriers between member states.
The Single Customs Territory launched in January has led to the reduction of transit days for goods moving from Kenya's Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa to Kampala in landlocked Uganda from 18 to just five days and to Kigali from 21 to eight days.
The reduced transit time has already enabled Uganda and Rwanda to save an estimated 40 billion Kenyan shillings (about 456 million US dollars) in transportation and other charges.
Another milestone has been the launch of the Kenya National Electronic Single Window System (Kenya Tradenet) which centralises tracking of goods, Custom clearance, and electronic payment including mobile platforms.
The movement of citizens of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda is also now easier with the use of national identity documents (IDs) and student cards instead of passports to facilitate travel to any of the participating countries.
Other key projects under the NCIP initiative include the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway line that will connect Mombasa port to Nairobi and eventually Kampala and Kigali.
Another mega project is the oil pipeline to connect Hoima in Uganda with Lamu port, 340 kilometres north of Mombasa, and where an oil refinery will also be constructed.
On Friday, President Kenyatta will join other leaders during the 20th anniversary of Rwanda's Liberation Day celebrations at Amahoro Stadium.
-- BERNAMA-NNN-KBC
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