Arusha, Tanzania, November 11, 2019 – The African Union Commission (AUC) has embarked on sensitization activities on the new African Multidimensional Regional Integration Index (AMRII), a monitoring and evaluation tool to assess the status of the integration in the continent. Through the department of Economic Affairs, the Commission has finalized a three-day workshop with the East African Community (EAC) to familiarize the regional bloc on the application of the tool to accelerate the process of regional integration.

The Acting Director of Economic Affairs, Jean-Denis Gabikini restated the Commission’s keenness to advance the AU’s goal of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa through the popularization and proper utilization of the African Multidimensional Regional Integration Index. “The AMRII is a tool that will help collect comprehensive data from Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Member States to produce the AU Annual Report on Regional Integration, highlighting achievements, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities to speed up the process of African regional integration”, he stated.

The workshop brought together member states; Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Comoros and Tanzania, as well as representatives from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the EAC and AUC.

This training workshop is in line with the recommendations of the 3rd Specialized Technical Committee (STC) of Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration, held in March 2019. The STC approved the AMRII as the main tool for evaluating the African regional integration process and urged the AUC and RECs to undertake training workshops for Member States in order to permit them apprehend the methodology and own the tool. This is the second of such trainings following the first organized in Lusaka, Zambia in August 2019 for COMESA and SADC Member States.

The training will comprise of presentations of the eight (8) dimensions, including the 33 indicators of the AMRII. It will also focus on detailed calculations of the sectoral indices and the threshold of indicators on a RECs basis. The Economic Affairs Departments together with the RECs hope to use the AMRII to make significant contributions to the realization of the will of African leaders to achieve integration to facilitate the development of the continent.

About AMRII:

AMRII is a document developed by the African Union Commission in collaboration with the RECs, Association of the African Central Bank (AACB) and the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) following a demand from African Ministers in charge of integration. It is a framework comprised of indices to evaluate the progress made by countries and Regional Economic Communities on regional integration. It will serve as a roadmap to help countries and RECs assess their efforts in the implementation of the Abuja Treaty and Agenda 2063.

For inquiries, contact:
Ms. Myranda Lutempo, Policy Officer, Department of Economic Affairs, Email: LutempoM@africa-union.org