BUJUMBURA May 8th (ABP) – The MPs met on Monday May 6, 2024, in plenary session, at the Kigobe hemicycle, to analyze and adopt three bills, namely the bill ratifying by the Republic of Burundi of the general cooperation agreement between the government of Burundi and the government of Gabon, the bill ratifying the agreement relating to cooperation in labor matters between the two governments and that ratifying by the Republic of Burundi of the trade agreement between Burundi and Gabon.
Concerning the first bill, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Mr. Albert Shingiro, indicated that that cooperation is part of the traditional diplomacy of States. The latter, he added, is a framework and an instrument for trade negotiations, where it participates in the protection and enhancement of the public and private interests of a nation.
He indicated that that agreement replaces and repeals the general cooperation agreement signed in 1975, with a view to adapting it to current realities, specifying that those two governments are driven by the desire to strengthen the ties of friendship and fraternity which unites the Burundian people and the Gabonese people, aware of the need to open for the two countries, a new era of cooperation with a view to developing in different areas.
Minister Shingiro also noted that those governments wish to develop relations between their countries in accordance with respect for the principles of equality in law, and sovereignty within the framework of the objectives defined by the charter of the United Nations and the Organization of the African Union.
In terms of labor, Minister Shingiro affirmed that labor migration movements can have a significant impact on the social and economic well-being of countries of origin, transit and destination. He indicated that countries of origin, where it is well coordinated, benefit from remittance flows and the transfer of investments, technology and essential skills, when migrants return at the end of their service.
As migrant workers contribute to the growth and development of their destination and origin countries, Minister Shingiro noted that the migration process involves complex challenges in terms of governance, protection of migrant workers, linkages between migration and development, and international cooperation.
The government of Burundi, aware of the advantages of migration, but also keen to meet the challenges that arise, is working to regulate that movement of labor through a legally binding legal framework with the destination countries, to the interest of migrants and employers, noted Minister Shingiro.
Regarding a cooperation agreement in the commercial field, Minister Albert Nshingiro reassured that that agreement aims to promote and intensify commercial relations for the benefit of the two brotherly countries and peoples. He added that it will open up completely new perspectives for trade between Burundi and Gabon by providing exporters and/or importers with a guarantee of a transparent environment.
He specified that the signing of that trade agreement will contribute to the economic development of those two countries, which have common interests because it is a text which establishes a legal framework based on the principles of equity and reciprocity.
By ratifying that agreement, he stressed, Burundi will also have increased and intensified intra-African trade and economic cooperation in the spirit of the Lagos Action Plan adopted in April 1980 and The African Continental Free Trade Area which Burundi has already ratified.
During the discussions, the deputies wanted to know about the advantage that Burundi gets from the agreement which concerns labor. Minister Shingiro responded to them that there will be many benefits, pointing out that in Saudi Arabia, for 4,000 Burundian workers, the country has already recorded 5,000,000 US dollars. He also indicated that the doors are open not only for farmers but also for educated or uneducated people, skilled in other sectors including welding and carpentry.