KIGALI, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Policymakers and private sector players from the East African Community (EAC) bloc on Friday pledged to step up efforts to reduce persistent and emerging barriers to regional trade.

The commitment was made during a high-level multi-sectoral dialogue held from Thursday to Friday in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, under the theme "From Commitment to Action, Scaling up Regional Competitiveness to Unlock Trade and Prosperity in the EAC."

EAC Secretary General Veronica Nduva noted that the political will of regional leaders is evident, but trade barriers remain, such as the lack of a harmonized domestic tax, which affects the movement of goods across borders.

"We cannot continue with non-implementation. We cannot continue to have divergence between policy action and political will," she said.

There has been an upward trend in trade among EAC partner states over the past decade, jumping from 6.42 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 to 15.25 billion dollars in 2024, according to Nduva.

But she noted that intra-regional trade accounts for only a small part of total exports, underscoring the region's persistent dependence on external markets.

Earlier on Thursday, Rwandan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Usta Kaitesi called on the region to accelerate digital transformation by improving connectivity, promoting interoperability of digital payment systems, and creating enabling policies that facilitate secure and inclusive cross-border digital trade.

Kaitesi called for stronger coordination among institutions, greater accountability and continued investment in infrastructure, including roads, railways, ports and inland logistics. ■