East African States Hold Meeting for the Sectoral Council on Transport, Communications and Meteorology

The 18th meeting of the Sectoral Council on Transport Communications and Meteorology (TCM) is currently underway at the Royal Palace Hotel in Bujumbura, Burundi. 

The five-day meeting from 6th -10th February, 2023 brings together stakeholders from the Government Ministries in the Partner States, agencies, regional organizations and the private sector to discuss challenges in the development of infrastructure and make recommendations on how to address them.

The sectors and sub-sectors that are involved in the TCM matters are roads, railways, maritime transport, telecommunications, ICT, postal services, civil aviation, airports and meteorology.

The meeting started with the Session of Senior Officials which runs from Monday 6th to 8 February 2023, followed by the Session of Permanent/Principal Secretaries on 9th February, 2023 and the Session of Ministers/Cabinet Secretaries will be held on 10th February, 2023.

Among the item on agenda are; Projects and programmes being undertaken by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) and the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Agency (CASSOA) as well as the One Network Area for mobile communications in the region.

The Sectoral Council meeting is expected give directions on the convening of the 5th EAC Heads of State Retreat on Infrastructure Development and Financing, the premier event that brings together political and policy decision makers, technocrats, development partners and the private sector to discuss ways of unlocking the estimated 50 billion dollars annual funding gap for the region’s infrastructure development.