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Ngasongwa sells East Africa to foreign investors
2006-03-15 13:20:27
By Pacifique Nkeshimana, Arusha
The potential and choice of investment opportunities are much wider for prospective investors in the young East African Community (EAC) economies than in the developed world, according to Minister for Economy, Planning and Empowerment, Dr Juma Ngasongwa.
The EAC offered a stable environment to investors with access to markets, with Tanzania alone sharing its borders with eight countries while Kenya was the hub of the airline industry in the region and Uganda had moved miles ahead in liberalising its economy, Dr Ngasongwa said when opening a three-day meeting on investment promotion in Arusha on Monday.
He added that the EAC had many resources that could attract investors such as arable land and climate that was ideal for agriculture products.
’Collectively, we are rich in natural resources and we offer a wide range of investment opportunities in agriculture, forestry and mineral resources,’ Dr Ngasongwa said, adding that in tourism, the EAC has natural assets that were enviable although they were less known and less exploited.
He said Tanzania was committed to promoting the region as the ideal investment destination, adding that both internal and foreign direct investments (FDIs) were to spur the growth of the economies of EAC member states.
The meeting has been organised by the East African Business Council (EABC) in collaboration with the Sub-Regional Office of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Rwanda Private Sector Foundation.
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