How an IGAD Regional Maritime Council can boost trade

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies argues for the establishment of an IGAD Regional Maritime Council (RMC) to address underdeveloped maritime trade, high operational costs, and infrastructural deficits in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development region.

• Maritime trade within the IGAD region is poorly developed and lacks a regional coordination mechanism, despite the existence of national port and customs authorities.
• Trade in the region is hindered by costly regimes, exorbitant insurance premiums, and inefficient procedures, which lead to port congestion and high logistics costs.
• The region suffers from insufficient infrastructural capacity, including ports, roads, and railways, which acts as a barrier to economic development and transit trade.
• Operational inefficiencies are prevalent in the sub-region due to a lack of qualified supply chain professionals in the maritime and shipping sector.
• High war risk insurance premiums, particularly for ships transiting High Risk Areas (HRAs) in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, reduce the competitiveness of regional imports and exports.
• Africa is poorly connected to global maritime trade; while 90% of its imports and exports are seaborne, African countries own only 1% of shipping fleets.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). How an IGAD Regional Maritime Council can boost trade. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief147.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. How an IGAD Regional Maritime Council can boost trade. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief147.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=How an IGAD Regional Maritime Council can boost trade |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief147.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndhow, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{How an IGAD Regional Maritime Council can boost trade}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief147.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }