6 August 2021: Minister of Infrastructure, Hon. Claver Gatete chaired the 33rd Virtual meeting of the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) Council of Ministers themed “Towards a Resilient, Smart and Responsive Corridor for Trade and Transport Logistics”. The meeting brought together Ministers from the six Northern Corridor Member States of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. Representatives of some Regional Economic Communities and Development Partners also participated in this meeting.

Ministers from the six Member States discussed matters concerning the development and improvement of regional transport infrastructure projects such as Road Transport Networks, Dry ports and Inland Container Depots, One Stop Border Posts, the Standard Gauge Railway and the Oil pipeline.

During the 33rd meeting of the Northern Corridor Council of Ministers, Kenyan Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community and Regional Development Aden Mohammed handed over the helm to Rwanda’s Minister for Infrastructure Hon. Claver Gatete, who will serve until 2023.

The vice-chair position went to Uganda while the First and Second Rapporteur seats went to Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo, respectively.

With the instruments of authority and the chairmanship moving from Kenya to Rwanda, a similar transition was made for the Executive Committee, as well as the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Committee Chairmanship.

In the joint communique issued after the virtual meeting, the council emphasised the importance of the Northern Corridor Transport route and the role it plays in promoting international trade and regional integration.

The meeting re-affirmed their commitment towards supporting Northern Corridor projects such as Road Side Stations Programme in Transport Infrastructure Development along the Northern Corridor highways.