BUJUMBURA, June 14th (ABP) – The Ministry of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sport and Culture, through the Economic Autonomisation and Youth Employment Programme (PAEEJ), is organising from 9 to 16 June 2024 in Bujumbura, the activities of the Made in Burundi fair, 2024 edition, under the theme “let’s work for good quality, diversified and competitive products, contributing to the realisation of the national vision of Burundi, an emerging country in 2040 and developed in 2060”, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
In his opening remarks, the Vice-President of the Republic of Burundi, Prosper Banzombaza, said that the concept of the “Made in Burundi Fair” was fully in line with the vision of Burundi as an emerging country by 2040 and a developed country by 2060.
In addition, he added, achieving that vision requires the structural transformation of Burundi’s economic and institutional landscape, by improving performance in all areas of national life.
Mr. Bazombanza pointed out that the successful implementation of the government’s vision also requires an improvement in the quality and competitiveness of processed products, with a view to satisfying the local market and meeting the needs of the sub-region, the African continent and just about everywhere else in the world.
To that end, he called on Burundian manufacturers to actively engage in competition and innovation, by offering local and foreign consumers high-quality, diversified products with high added value, with the aim of increasing their exports and balancing their trade balance.
He went on to say that the Burundian government, for its part, had already undertaken a number of initiatives to establish a favourable environment for exports. Among those initiatives, he mentioned in particular the strengthening of the operational capacities of the Burundian Bureau of Standardisation and Quality Control (BBN), the Uvira-Musigati-Gitega-Kindu railway project, which is an important parameter for boosting existing trade between Burundi and other countries, the project to set up a Special Economic Zone, as well as increased investment in the energy sector to deal with the energy deficit.
On that occasion, the Vice-President of the Republic of Burundi also pointed out that the public and private sectors, as well as development partners, must each play a key role, as stipulated in the strategy for implementing Burundi’s national industrialisation policy.
That must be accompanied by improvements in quality in all areas of economic activity through the development of staff skills, the use of new technologies, modern machinery and equipment, and capacity building throughout the production process.
The Minister for Trade, Marie Chantal Nijimbere, said that the fair was an excellent way of highlighting the diversity and quality of Burundi’s industrial production.
She announced some of the benefits to be derived from the industrial sector, namely the enhancement of local raw materials, job creation, the right to compete on local, regional and international markets, the inflow of foreign currency thanks to the exploitation of manufactured products, the improvement of social standards and the increase in the contribution of the industrial sector to GDP. She invited all Burundian entrepreneurs to implement the strategies and programmes of the country’s national industrialisation policy, and its regional and continental integration.
Gervais Abayeho, the Minister for Youth, said that the event would foster an entrepreneurial spirit among young Burundians in general, and particularly among those involved in the drive for economic empowerment, an important aspect of the country’s path to well-being and emergence. He recalled that the government of Burundi has made Burundian youth a priority. That priority is reflected in the major initiatives undertaken in favour of that category of the population. By way of illustration, he cited the establishment of the Investment Bank for Young People (BIJE), the Women’s Development Investment Bank (BIDF) and capacity-building for young people throughout the country in agropastoral and irrigation techniques.