The 10th East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition 2023 (EAPCE’23) will be held from 9th to 11th May, 2023 in Kampala, Uganda.

The conference organized by the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat and the EAC Partner States is expected to attract more than 1,000 participants.

The 2023 edition of the biennial conference under the theme East Africa as a hub for Investment in Exploration and Exploitation of Petroleum Resources for Sustainable Energy and Socioeconomic Development, aims at promoting the region’s petroleum potential and investment opportunities.

The last nine Petroleum Conferences have proven a valuable forum for governments and petroleum industry players from around the world to dialogue.

According to the EAC Secretary General, Dr. Peter Mathuki, while the conference provides a forum for dialogue for all players in the Petroleum industry regionally and internationally, the 2023 edition of the Conference is also in line with the Community’s broad goal to achieve economic, social and political integration so as to create wealth in the region and enhance competitiveness through increased production, trade and investment in the oil and gas sector.

The EAC Vision 2050 seeks to ensure sustainable, adequate, affordable, competitive, secure and reliable supply of energy to meet regional needs at the least cost.

“The region will emphasize access, capacity, efficiency and sustainability of energy in the region, by 2050, the EAC has the target of transforming the energy landscape to be characterized by, among other things, efficient distribution of petroleum products with sufficient strategic reserves,” said Mathuki.

Held since 2003, the East African Petroleum Conferences have provided increasing awareness of the potential for petroleum production in the region and other important issues in the petroleum sector, including technological advancements in exploration, development and production.

Delegates can expect high quality technical presentations and exhibitions from a wide spectrum of players from the petroleum sector. The conference programme integrates field excursions to selected sites in each Partner State for delegates to see the rich geological variety that the region possesses as well as the tourist attractions that the region is well known for.

EAPCE’23 will take place at a time when the EAC has embarked on a journey to implement the Vision 2050. The objective of the energy sector development under the EAC Vision 2050 is to ensure sustainable, adequate, affordable, competitive, secure and reliable supply of energy to meet regional needs at the least cost. By 2050, the region’s target is to transform the energy landscape to be characterised by efficient distribution of petroleum products with sufficient strategic reserves.

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Uganda is set to host the 2nd Annual East African Court of Justice Judicial Conference which is scheduled for 26th- 28th October 2022 in Kampala, under the theme, “Transforming Access to Justice in the East African Community”. President Museveni is expected to grace the event. 

The overall objective of the Conference is to stimulate high-level conversations and discussions on emerging legal and judicial issues including, emerging jurisprudence, issues affecting Courts and Court users and provide a platform for information sharing among judges, judicial officers and legal practitioners and other Court users in the region.

According to the organisers, “there will be a keynote address on “Shaping East Africa Through Advancing Access to Justice” which shall be delivered by Prof Frederick Ssempebwa, and shall form the basis for the Panel Discussion of the Chief Justices from the East African Community Partner States.”

The 2nd Annual EAC Judicial Conference is expected to draw participants from the 7 East African Community (EAC) Partner States who shall include Chief Justices, Ministers of Justice, Attorneys General, Ministers in charge of EAC Affairs, Judges from regional and national courts

Others will include Heads of EAC Organs and Institutions, Members of Parliament, legal practitioners, members of the academia, representatives of civil society organisations, representatives of the private sector and the media.

At the conclusion of the conference, the East African Court of Justice shall hold its annual rotational court sessions during the month of November at the Commercial Court of Uganda premises in Kampala.

During the 2nd Judicial Conference, a number of topics will be discussed and these will include one Court, mixed Systems in the East African Court of Justice as a Regional Court that encompasses the Common Law and Civil Law systems, the role of national and regional courts in bridging the access to justice gap for Cross-Border Trade disputes, access to justice and equality before the Law, removing barriers at National and Regional courts, the Internet as an enabler of freedom of expression and public debate, implications for the rule of law, alternative dispute resolution realities, deterring factors and solutions modernization of courts, shared experiences on the digitisation of courts, judicial resource limitations and the effect on judicial efficiency.

To mark the 20th Anniversary of the EACJ, the Court in 2021 launched the rotation of its November Court Sessions, with the 1st rotational session being held in Bujumbura, Burundi from 8th – 26th November, 2021.

“The objective of rotating the Court’s November sessions is to bring the services of the Court closer to the people and to enhance the visibility of the Court as it undertakes its mandate of promoting access to justice by ensuring adherence to law in the interpretation and application and of compliance with the EAC Treaty.”

The Court through its mandate continues to settle disputes and develop key jurisprudence on matters of regional integration.

The Court mainly handles disputes arising from the violation of fundamental and operational principles that govern the achievement of the objectives of the Community by the EAC Partner States as enshrined in the Treaty under Articles 6 (d) and 7 (2). 

These principles include good governance, adherence to the principles of democracy, the rule of law, accountability, transparency, social justice, equal opportunities, gender equality as well as recognition, promotion and protection of human and people’s rights in accordance with the African charter on Human and Peoples’ rights.

The EACJ cannot undertake its mandate independent of Partner States’ support and collaboration and it’s in that regard that the President of the Court, Justice Nestor Kayobera has been engaging with senior government officials from the Ministry of EAC Affairs, the Judiciary as key stakeholders in the activities of the Court.

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