Sub-Saharan Africa
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Kenya & Three Other African Countries Set to Connect Indian, Atlantic Oceans Via Railway

© AFP 2023 TONY KARUMBAOne of Kenya's newly acquired standard gauge rail locomotive, carrying Kenyan President pulls into Voi railway station on May 31, 2017 in Voi, during an inaugural ride on Kenya's new standard gauge railway from the coastal city of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi.
One of Kenya's newly acquired standard gauge rail locomotive, carrying Kenyan President pulls into Voi railway station on May 31, 2017 in Voi, during an inaugural ride on Kenya's new standard gauge railway from the coastal city of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 31.05.2023
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In light of the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which encompasses most of the continent's nations with a combined GDP of more than $3 trillion, African countries have set about improving regional connectivity and infrastructure.
Kenya's President William Ruto has recently announced that his country is working with three other African states, namely Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Congo (Brazzaville) on a project aimed at connecting the Indian and Atlantic Oceans via a trans-African railway line.

"We are currently having a conversation between Kenya, Uganda, DRC, including Congo (Brazzaville) to see how we can connect the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic. I think there is only a section of 1000 kilometers of the rail and that should be connected," Ruto said, as cited by local media.

The president delivered this statement at the African Private Sector Dialogue on the African Continental Free Trade Area, held in the country's capital, Nairobi.
The agreement between the nations will provide for each state constructing a railway line that will connect one country to the others via border points. The line is expected to start from the Kenyan coast and end at the Congo coast.
A new bridge of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is seen as Tanzania received 14 economy class carriages of South Korean company Sung Shin Rolling Stock (SSRT) in Dar es Salaam on November 25, 2022 - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 13.04.2023
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"As countries we are prepared to work on it together. That we can do, our section in Kenya. Uganda is already working on its section," the president added.

The project is intended to enhance trade relations between the East and West African countries, mainly by reducing the time it takes for goods to be transported within the continent as well as to other regions.
As of now, intra-African trade accounts for about 15% of total African trade. The AfCFTA in particular looks to boost intra-African trade in goods and services by more than 25% by 2040.
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