Brussels, 14/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Neven Mimica, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, is on his first official visit to East Africa (14-19 September).
Development cooperation, trade, economic growth prospects, migration, the fight against climate change and preparations for the UN sustainable development summit (New York, 25-27 September) will be central to his meetings in Rwanda (14-16 September), Kenya (16-18 September) and Uganda (19 September).
In all three of these countries, Neven Mimica will meet senior officials, members of Parliament, representatives of civil society and the private sector, and will visit projects co-financed by the European Development Fund (EDF).
The Commissioner will present his hosts with the emergency trust fund (or special allocation fund) of €1.8 billion which the EU has just adopted, ahead of the EU/Africa summit in Valletta, to tackle the underlying causes of illegal migration, promote employment opportunities in Africa and fight radicalisation and extremism, particularly in the Horn of Africa (see EUROPE 11385).
During his time in Rwanda, the Commissioner will open the new road linking Kigali to Gatuna, which received EU funding of €57 million, and an agricultural project in Byumba which was co-funded by the EU. In Kenya, Mimica will visit the Sasini coffee production facility, which has two new varieties of coffee which can withstand a wide range of weather conditions, producing a very high yield. In Uganda, the Commissioner will visit a professional training centre for young people in Bwaise, a densely populated shanty town in Kampala. (Aminata Niang)