1. ERPC and partners: PERL ARC and Ford Foundation organized the 3rd SEES which attracted high level personalities from private sector and the five governments of the Eastern. The over 500 participants came from all over the world.
2. The Governor of Enugu State sent the Director General of Eastern Governors’ Forum to open the Summit.
3. The former Governor of Anambra State and pioneer Chairman of Eastern Governors’ Forum who is now the Vice presidential candidate of PDP was the Keynote Speaker.
4. A sampling of the international attendees included Dr. Walid Farghal, Director General Annual Investment Meeting, UAE Ministry of Economy: under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vic President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. A sampling of the Nigerian participants include: Dr. Paschal Dozie, Chief Mabzulike Amaechi, Sen. Ben Obi, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, Chief Dubem Onyia, Dr. Alex Chika Okafor (Chicason), etc
5. There were vigorous discussions in the on-going ERPC projects in rail network, gas pipeline network, hospital development, ICT, and the Eastern Finance Company.
6. There were presentations on key industrial sectors such as Enyimba Economic City, Geometric Power Project, in Aba, Aba Ariaria shoe manufacturers.
7. There were industrialists such as Dr Chika Okafor, Chairman, Chicason Group of Companies, ICT entrepreneurs, agribusiness industrialists.
8. There were excellent presentations on the Ease of Doing Business, particularly a World Bank report on the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria and the Eastern.
9. The UAE Annual Investment Meeting signed an MOU with ERPC Board on Investment and Development partners, this was the one of the major highlights of the Summit.

Resolutions
1. Within one year to conclude feasibility study of the rail network, gas pipeline and hospital projects.
2. The SEFCO project development team will have completed the plans for capitalization by year end.
3. ERPC to set up mechanism for returning to the traditional method of training and certifying the vocational training for youths in order to give them job opportunities.
4. ERPC to support Aba leather manufacturing cluster.
5. ERPC to work with project developers to begin implementation of CSR that give sustainable empowerment to the communities and people.
6. ERPC to set up innovation center for providing technical innovation for SE entrepreneurs.
7. The Commissioners of Commerce and industries of the Eastern States were enjoined to provide and publish a properly “manned” compliant hotline.

This year’s event with the theme “Repositioning The Eastern For Rapid Economic Development” was organised by the Eastern Governor’s Forum (SEGF) in collaboration with Eastern Region Project Planning (ERPC), UK Department for International Development (DFID) and its implementation organ (PERL), NDIGBO and Entrepreneurship, Nzuko Umunna, Alaigbo Development Foundation, Ndigbo in Lagos, Eastern Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ohaneze and other development organs of Igbo land.

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE Eastern ECONOMIC SUMMIT HELD FROM THE 11TH – 13TH NOVEMBER 2024 AT THE NIKE LAKE HOTEL, ENUGU.

PREAMBLE
The Eastern Economic Summit was held from November 11-13, 2024 in Enugu. The summit was organised by the Eastern Governor’s Forum (SEGF) in collaboration with Eastern Region Project Planning (ERPC), UK Department for International Development (DFID) and its implementation organ (PERL), NDIGBO and Entrepreneurship, Nzuko Umunna, Alaigbo Development Foundation, Ndigbo in Lagos, Eastern Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ohaneze and other development organs of Igbo land.

The Summit commended the South-East Governors for forging unity among themselves in the larger interest of the South-East region and for setting up the South-East Governor’s Forum (SEGF) that facilitated the Eastern Economic Summit.
The Summit recalls with nostalgia, the great economic strides made by the people of the Eastern Zone in the pre-independence era and few years after the independence of Nigeria. It observed that poor infrastructural facility is the bane of economic development in the South-East region.

After exhaustive deliberations, the summit resolved as follows:
• The adoption of the study conducted by the Brenthurst Foundation on the infrastructural needs of the South-East states and called on the Eastern Governor’s Forum to pursue the full implementation of the Eastern development blueprint by the Foundation.
• In addition, the Summit adopted presentations made and recommendations proposed for the rapid economic development of the Eastern Zone in the areas of agriculture, ease of doing business, infrastructure, health, education and media development as follows:

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
The Summit adopts the need for the creation of an enabling environment for doing business in the South-East by government assisting in providing/facilitating the needed infrastructure including road, power and empowerment (access to finance, skill etc.) and also streamline and publish laws, regulations and processes in order to make transparent, the environment for ease of doing business in the South–East. This is to be measured by significant increase in the ranking of South-East states in the 2024 World Bank sub-national index.

INFRASTRUCTURE 
The Summit fully adopted the presentations on infrastructural development of the Eastern in the areas of road concession, power, rail network, gas pipeline, water, ICT, industrial parks etc.

AGRICULTURE
The summit adopts the recommendations on Agriculture to achieve sustainable agricultural production. The Eastern must be able to feed itself and export food particularly basic food. It should be able to develop an agro processing hub in Nigeria.

HEALTH
The adoption of the presentations on health (on the need) to develop/provide medical and hospital initiative to provide a first class medical programme that can attract health tourism to the region and significantly reduce the mortality rate across all ages in the Eastern.

MEDIA
The summit agreed on the need for a robust media engagement for the purpose of rapid economic development of the SE and urged all the SE states to key into media platforms for effective information dissemination and mobilisation for investment.

CONCLUSION
The Summit calls on the South-East Governor’s Forum to fully fund and support the Regional and States’ Implementation Task Forces in realizing the recommendations of the Summit.

Photos from the summit.

The San Carlos farm seats on a 3400 hectare land size; but as at the time of this visit, only 250 hectares is actively being used.

It has a production capacity of 40MT/hectare and its workforce of about 150 people are sourced from the surrounding communities.

The workforce recruited are constantly being trained and part of the farm is under irrigation. They have a market reach that spans the Nigerian federation.

Presentation of Kolanut (Oji)

Lunch and Pleasantries