NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 16 — Somalia has formally joined the East African Community after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed the Treaty of Accession with the bloc.
The ceremony held Friday at State House Entebbe, Uganda, saw President Mohamud and his South Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir, the current chairperson of EAC, put their signatures on the document making Somalia the 8th member of the bloc.
Uganda’s leader Yoweri Museveni and EAC Secretary General Peter Mutuku Mathuki witnessed the ceremony.
Somalia was cleared to join the bloc on November 24 after the EAC Summit of Heads of State at their 23rd Ordinary Meeting held in Arusha, endorsed Mogadishu’s application.
Speaking after the ceremony President Mohamud described the accession into EAC as a moment of pride and pledged to work with partners states in the pursuit of shared objectives for mutual benefit of the member states.
“Today is a moment of immense pride as I signed the Treaty of Accession of the Federal Republic of Somalia into the EAC,” President Mohamud said committing to strengthening economic, social and political ties for the accelerated development of the region.
The Summit of the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State at their 23rd Ordinary Meeting held in Arusha, Tanzania on November 24 considered the Report of the EAC Council of Ministers on the Negotiations with the Federal Republic of Somalia into the EAC, and resolved to admit Somalia as a full member of the Community.
The Summit designated the Chairperson of the Summit, Kiir, to agree with Somalia on when to sign the Treaty of Accession of Somalia into the Community.
Timelines for ratification instrument
The Heads of State required Somalia to deposit the instrument of ratification with the Secretary General within six (6) months after the signing of the Treaty of Accession.
The Heads of State also directed the EAC Council of Ministers to develop a roadmap for the integration of Somalia into the Community and report progress to the next meeting of the Summit.
Somalia’s journey towards EAC membership commenced in July 2022 when Mogadishu expressed interest to join the bloc.
Sheikh Mohamud made a high-level visit to EAC headquarters at the time to formally launch the bid as he sought to mobilize support from Member States.
Mohamud’s visit coincided with a High-Level Retreat by EAC Heads of State to review the region’s common market protocol.
Other Partner States in the EAC bloc are Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania.
