NAIROBI, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Kenya and Tanzania will hold discussions in November to boost bilateral trade, a Kenyan official said on Tuesday.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Chris Kiptoo told journalists in Nairobi that both nations are concerned about the decline in cross-border since 2015.
"We have agreed to meet in the coastal town of Mombasa in order to look at ways to eliminate non tariff barriers that have led to decline in trade volumes," Kiptoo said on the sidelines of the Kenya Commodities Exchange (KOMEX) forum.
The announcement came barely one week after the two neighboring states held a three-day meeting in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.
The bilateral meeting resolved to tackle impediments in cross-border trade in milk, tobacco, liquefied petroleumgas, and wheat.
Kenya's trade talks will be spearheaded by the National Trade Negotiation Council in order to ensure that issues are tackled from a wider government perspective.
Kiptoo noted that the meeting next month will seek to resolve outstanding issues hampering free flow of goods and services between the East African nations.
"Both countries have come up with a list of 15 items that they want to resolve urgently," he said.
According to Kiptoo, the two sides will discuss ways of implementing an East Africa Community directive on used textile imports without contravening international trade agreements.
