The East African Community (EAC), a regional intergovernmental organisation of eight Partner States, prioritised the Common Market as the second regional Integration milestone of the Community, and has been in force since 2010 in line with the provisions of the EAC Treaty. As part of this efforts, the "Leveraging Integration Frameworks for Trade in Services and CSOs in the EAC (LIFTED)" a project co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), aim to increase Trade in Services (TiS) and specifically facilitate the mutual recognition of professional qualifications within the East African Community (EAC).
The lack of recognition of foreign qualifications and experience in EAC Partner States is a core impediment to trade in professional services, hindering the free movement of professionals across borders either in their capacity as individuals or as professional firms. The signed Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) by various professions within the EAC, is a step closer to alleviating the challenges.
Furthermore, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement presents a significant opportunity for the EAC to expand intra-African trade which can be effectively achieved through negotiation and implementation of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs).
To fulfil this priority, GIZ Tanzania/EAC is inviting interested consultants from EAC partner states to provide the EAC with analysis and policy recommendations on MRAs within the AfCFTA and other trade agreements. Specifically, the consultant is expected to:
Analyse the current state of MRAs within the EAC and their relation to AfCFTA's modalities.
Identify best practices and lessons learned from other regions.
Develop a roadmap and policy recommendations for EAC to effectively negotiate MRAs within the AfCFTA and other trade agreements.
Interested candidates should request for detailed tender documents from tz_procurement@giz.de no later than 14th February 2025 and submit technical and financial proposals by email no later than 23rd February 2025.