Kenya and Ethiopia are turning a new page in regional cooperation, with a fresh agreement set to transform trade along their shared border and unlock economic opportunities for local communities.
The two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) through a simplified trade regime. This deal is expected to ease the flow of goods, services, and labor between the two nations particularly in regions like Moyale, where trade has often been hindered by logistical and regulatory hurdles.
Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry Lee Kinyanjui, speaking during the signing ceremony in Mombasa, stressed that the agreement responds to real challenges experienced by traders on the ground.
“There have been significant challenges,” Kinyanjui said. “We are emphasizing that within the bigger scope of things, Kenya and Ethiopia will be looking for ways in which we can implement free trade so that goods produced here or in Ethiopia can come and people can work anywhere in the two countries not forgetting tourism in Mombasa and many other things that will boost our economy.”
The move reflects a growing shift toward regional integration that’s people-centered aimed at making trade not just easier for large exporters but also more accessible to small businesses, farmers, and informal traders.
Kinyanjui also highlighted the economic complementarity between the two nations. “Ethiopia has critical goods that we need as a country, with Kenya also having finished industrial products that are useful to Ethiopia thus the need for the partnership,”he said.
With infrastructure already in place and political will on both sides, the Kenya-Ethiopia border could soon shift from being a trade bottleneck to a thriving economic corridor a model for how regional deals under AfCFTA can work on the ground.
