Policy Brief 2 - IGAD Trade Integration Arrangements Status of Membership of IGAD Members to WTO and RECs

The IGAD Member States are heterogeneous with respect to their level of trade integration (Table 2 provides a brief summary). Although most are also members of COMESA, not all of the COMESA mem- bers are full parties to the COMESA FTA. Three IGAD Member States (Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda) are members of the East African Com- mu¬nity (EAC), implying more limited policy space for autonomous trade policy formulation. With regard to continental trade integration, IGAD Member States are at various stages of participa- tion: five have ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement,

three have signed but not yet ratified it, and Eritrea has so far not signed the Agreement. Multi- laterally, only three of the eight countries are members of the WTO, although four additional ones are at various stages of the accession process. In addition, in 2019 five IGAD Member States (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Soma- lia6) decided to develop a coordinated approach for addressing regional problems and founded the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI). Among the Initia- tive’s four thematic pillars, two – “improving region- al infrastructure connectivity” and “promoting trade and economic integration” – are immediately relevant for the IGAD Regional Trade Policy.