The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is an eight-country regional economic community comprising Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. The region covers an area of about 5.2 million km2 and has a population of more than 280 million.
IGAD's mission is to assist and complement the efforts of member states to achieve, through increased cooperation: food and nutrition security, Blue Economy and environmental protection, peace and security, and economic cooperation and integration in the region. Despite its history of fragility, conflict, and recurrent waves of drought, the region is known for its diversity in natural resources, agro-ecological zones, and diverse economic opportunities. These economic opportunities can easily drive economic transformation and contribute to job creation and increased investment through deeper integration and infrastructure investments to improve connectivity and better access to domestic and cross-border markets. Moreover, that aims at achieving a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable agri-food system for the region promoting agro-industrialization, and enhancing intra-Africa trade are paramount.
IGAD's focus on regional economic cooperation and integration (RECI) aims to create an open and unified regional economic space for business – a single market that is open to competitive entry, and well-integrated with other continental and global economies. the importance of tourism in the region and the increased priority given to the sector by Member States, IGAD, through the technical support provided by the Sub-Regional Office for East Africa (SRO-EA) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), has formulated the Ten-Year Sustainable Tourism Master Plan (STMP) 2013-2023. The objective of the STMP was to provide IGAD member states with a regional framework for the development of sustainable tourism with a view to contributing to socio-economic development and poverty reduction and promoting regional integration. The STMP was launched by His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 at the IGAD Inter-Ministerial Tourism Forum.
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