South Sudan meets to validate National Export and Investment Strategy

"We are at the juncture on the continent but also globally, where we need refined and robust policy such as the NEIS to be able to survive," said Abah Afon, Senior Manager for Export Development Advisory at Afreximbank.

The NEIS presents a five-year national plan for South Sudan, together with nine priority sector and cross-sector strategies that each has a plan of action. Priority sectors include gum arabic, natural honey, hides and skins, oilseed, and wildlife tourism. The selected cross-sectors comprise investment promotion, transport and trade facilitation, trade information and promotion, and skills development. The NEIS was developed through consultation and supported by continuous data analysis and documentation.

"The NEIS is aimed at helping foster trade and investment in South Sudan through a combination of effective strategic planning, improved national and subnational government technical support, and private sector leadership capacity," said Claude Manguila, Trade Strategy Advisor at ITC.

"This will be achieved by boosting priority sectors, developing value chains, and building relevant public and private sector stakeholders' implementation, management, and analytical capacity."

The validation workshop allowed the core team of high-level authorities and key trade support institutions to review, enrich and validate the NEIS and its Plans of Action.

Participants included:

Ministry of Trade and Industry	Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
Ministry of Finance and Planning	Ministry of Environment and Forestry
Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries	Ministry of Investment
Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism	Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Ministry of East African Community Affairs	Ministry of Cabinet Affairs
South Sudan National Bureau of Standards	South Sudan Bureau of Statistics
Chamber of Commerce	South Sudan Customs
South Sudan National Drugs & Food Control Authority

Mary Akech Milla, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, emphasized the importance of these consultations and validation workshop.

"The National Export and Investment Strategy offers a unique opportunity to gain momentum for economic development and competitiveness," said Akech Milla, who acts as the Navigator of the NEIS Design process at the national level.

"The government of the of South Sudan will leverage the strategy to attract much-needed foreign direct investment in productive sector and physical infrastructure development to facilitate trade in the region, continentally and internationally."

Akech Milla said Cabinet would be diligent in its final approval of the strategy, and reiterated her government's commitment to ensure the strategy is implemented in letter and spirit.

The validated NEIS document will be submitted to the Economic Cluster of the Government of South Sudan, which meets in the coming months. The NEIS will serve as the national roadmap for implementing concrete actions and real projects to create a more productive and diversified national economy.

Ultimately contributing to better integration of South Sudan into East African Community (EAC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

About the project

South Sudan NEIS is funded by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). The project focuses on the facilitation and design of South Sudan National Export and Investment Strategy, including five export priority sectors and four cross-sector strategies and an SME Competitiveness Survey (SMECS)

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