Building capacity for cross border and transit transport management in Eastern Africa

Abstract

High transport costs remain a challenge for many African countries, particularly those that are landlocked. ECA studies show that landlocked countries have disproportionately high trade-related costs, mainly due to significantly higher costs of inland transport. Indeed, in the case of countries such as Burundi and Rwanda, inland transport costs account for over 70% of the total import/export costs. Landlocked countries depend on transit countries for their international trade and they are linked by transit transport corridors. Efficient corridor management as well as smooth cross-border relations among the stakeholders involved in transit transport are required for landlocked countries to fully benefit from the globalised trading system in Addis Ababa, 5 February 2014 (ECA).