Eritrea has recently been in the spotlight with renewed optimism among the international community on its expected role in strengthening regional integration. Long viewed as a reclusive nation, shuttle diplomacy is in a pilot stage through the promotion of its potential for economic development along its coastline bordering the Red Sea.

The East African nation hosted the 23rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials & Experts (ICSOE) in early November in Asmera. Jointly organised with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the theme was “Leveraging New Opportunities for Regional Integration in Eastern Africa.”

The meeting was attended by the delegations of 10 African countries, including the host nation, as well as regional and international organisations.

The role of regional economic communities in the acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the opportunities presented by shared water resources in regional integration was highlighted at the meeting.

Lack of structural transformation and weak trade performance of the Eastern Africa region and the slow rate of job creation were highlighted among the major constraints to economic integration.

Eritrean delegates that were a party to the meeting, though positive about the possibility for regional integration, were on the fence about its practicality.

“Without transforming our existing infrastructural capacities, both human and physical, lofty objectives of enhancing regional trade or economic integration will remain wishful and incomprehensible,” said Osman Saleh, foreign minister of Eritrea.

Representatives of the nations recommended mobilising resources from the private and public sectors to ensure infrastructure development that can ensure smooth regional integration. Participants also agreed that the ratification of the African Union’s Protocol on the Free Movement of People, financing policies to alleviate social tensions and to develop social safety nets could go a long way in ensuring the economic competitiveness of the region.

Eritrea’s interest in regional integration relied mainly on the "blue economy," those sectors that rely on the ocean such as beach tourism, fishing, aquaculture and offshore mining. As a result, a side event was also held on “Harnessing the Blue Economy for Regional Integration.”

Experiences from Seychelles, Comoros and Madagascar were presented, and Eritrea’s potential for fisheries and deep-sea mining were highlighted. This was despite Eritrea remaining at the bottom of African country rankings in terms of import and export trade volumes in fish and fish products, according to the Food & Agricultural Organization (FAO).