Atong Kuol, Trade and Industry Minister|By Darlington Moses

South Sudan has been urged to accelerate its commitments to digital trade and regional integration during a high-level East African Community (EAC) ministerial meeting in Kenya held from 19 to 25 of November, according Trade and Industry Minister, Atong Kuol

Atong Kuol Manyang Juuk was among delegates from the eight EAC member states attending the 47th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance, and Investment, where progress on previous regional decisions dominated the agenda.

Speaking after the trip, the minister said South Sudan was specifically reminded to fulfill obligations related to e-commerce, e-payment systems, and broader digital public services.

“One of the major agenda items was the status of implementation of previous decisions,” she said.

“And on the trade side, the EAC is encouraging us to fully involve our country in the digital economy — the e-commerce, the e-payment, and other public e-services programs.”

She stressed that although many areas of discussion fell under customs and finance, the directives issued by the council apply to the entire government, not just the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

“These directives come to the country, not only an individual ministry,” he explained. “They said South Sudan has to do this.”

According to the minister, one of the key requirements is the development of a digital system to store and manage business-registration documents.

He said that this must be done in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to ensure secure, properly organized, and easily accessible records.

“We just do registration, but we need a proper way of ensuring that it is stored where it is accessible and also safe,” she said.

South Sudan was also reminded to fast-track the establishment of its National Trade Facilitation Committee, a body that every other EAC country has already formed.

“This is very important because all the countries have done it, except South Sudan,” the minister said.

She added that the International Trade Center is currently supporting the process and helping the government complete the groundwork.

She emphasized that the committee will play a central role in strengthening national trade governance, bringing together institutions from agriculture, finance, health, the Chamber of Commerce, security agencies, and others into a unified advisory body.

“When they sit together, this body is the one that looks into programs, plans, and advises the government,” she said.

“It is not a small thing at the level of just the minister, but the government in general.”

The minister described the Kenya meeting as productive and said South Sudan must now move quickly to align with the region’s digital-trade standards in order to participate fully in the growing EAC market.