Somalia officially joins East African Community

Somalia has finished the process of becoming a fully-fledged member of the East African Community (EAC) after it has ratified the accession treaty to an economic bloc that has some of Africa’s rapidly growing economies.

Somalia joined Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and South Sudan, as part of the exclusive East African Bloc.

Jibril Abdirashid Haji Abdi, Somalia’s Minister of Commerce and Industry presented the instrument of ratification to Peter Mathuki, the bloc’s Secretary-General, during an event held at the EAC’s headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

“Somalia now has the green light to contribute to the development of a roadmap for her integration into the EAC,” the EAC Secretariat-General said.

“We will in the course of the upcoming weeks be bringing Somalia up to speed on the state of the EAC integration process, in all the pillars of regional integration,” Mathuki addded.

“We recognize the importance of adding value to the Community, enhancing collaboration with our neighbors and promoting regional economic and social development through increased trade, bilateral agreements and joint programs and projects,” the Somali minister said.