This high-level roundtable exchange, held under the Wilton Park Protocol, will identify options and strategies to enable economic, commercial and trade cooperation towards achieving socio-economic transformation, peace and prosperity across the Great Lakes Region (GLR). Discussions will help to identify ways to build long-term partnerships that will embed cooperation and a vision for regional development and prosperity, manage constructive competition and deter conflict.
The resource wealth, investment opportunities and economic potential of this highly intertwined and interdependent region are well-known. But the question of how to translate existing resource wealth and untapped potential into transformative and sustainable growth to produce beneficial outcomes for the majority of the people remains.
The need to identify and implement steps towards answering this question becomes ever more pressing as growing young populations, climate change impacts including on traditional livelihoods and food sources, and internal displacement and refugee flows due to instability, bring greater pressure to bear on all regional governments and public institutions.
This invitation-only conference will bring together decision-makers and experts from Angola, Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and international partners, including from regional organisations. Participants will discuss regional approaches to building SMEs into businesses of scale and regional investment partnerships; how to enhance trade integration for mutual benefit, including towards implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area; and creating regional value chains to support transformation through green, resource-based industrialisation and value addition.
This Wilton Park exchange will catalyse creative thinking around solutions for a sustainable, prosperous and peaceful future for the region, with an emphasis on developing practical and actionable proposals or recommendations for economic, trade and development cooperation.
Image credit: Guy Gael GF
In partnership with
