Nairobi, Jan. 14 -- An interesting development is happening in the Eastern Africa region.

For a long time, countries in the region have developed intra-trade relationships that have extended to the trade in agricultural products, livestock and animal products, manufactured goods, mining and natural resources, as well as energy and petroleum products, among others.

Looking at the energy and petroleum sector, we have seen cross-border trade in refined petroleum products, the transit of goods through the Mombasa and Dar es Salaam ports, regional collaboration on energy security and standards, and shared infrastructure for transmission and distribution.

This year, we expect trade relations in the energy sector to go a notch further with th...