Somalia deposited her ratification instrument for the Treaty of Accession with the East African Community (EAC) yesterday, becoming the bloc’s eighth partner state.
During the depositing ceremony at the EAC’s headquarters in Arusha Region, Dr Peter Mathuki, the bloc’s Secretary General, congratulated Somalia on achieving the regional community’s membership ambition.
“We want to congratulate you, the Federal Republic of Somalia for depositing your instrument of ratification with the secretary general, as required in the treaty, which is basically the last step to say officially now you are a full member of East African Community,” Dr. Mathuki told reporters.
Furthermore, he thanked Somalia’s President, Mr Sheikh Hassan Mohamud, for his extensive collaboration and commitment to making the dream a reality.
“We call him now a champion. He is a champion because he started this journey in 2012 and it could have possible for you to give up, but champion never give, champion make sure that they win,” he said.
He characterised Mr Mahamud as a champion who worked alongside the other seven East African champions to put the bloc’s agenda of socioeconomic and political reform into action.
Dr. Muthuki also thanked the heads of state from the other EAC member states for accepting Somalia’s membership application.
Regarding what to expect, he stated that the EAC team will shortly visit Mogadishu to identify areas of concern in collaboration with other partners.
Highlighting the benefits of the EAC’s expansion, he stated that the EAC will now have a total population of over 350 million people, making it a massive market with the longest coastline.
“Somalia brings onboard about 3,200 kilometres of the coast line, that is a serious economic implication, in terms of the cost of transport for goods from East Africa to the rest of the world and from the rest of the world to East Africa,” he said.
In another development, Dr Mathuki, speaking on the issue of EAC monetary union, stated that it is the perfect moment for member states to expedite the implementation of the common currency, which is a crucial step towards maximum regional integration.
Nonetheless, he denied claims circulating on social media, especially X (previously Twitter), that the EAC had created a unified currency. For his part, Ethiopia’s Minister for Information, Mr Dauda Aweso, stated that Somalia is committed to partnering with other EAC member nations to fulfil the bloc’s goals, which are focused on the development of its people.
“Somalia will bring profound contribution on development of the bloc’s economy,” he said.
The Treaty of Accession was signed on December 15th, last year in Entebbe, Uganda, by Somalia’s President Sheikh Hassan Mohamud and the Chairperson of the Summit of EAC Heads of State, Mr Salva Kiir, who is also the President of the Republic of South Sudan.
The signing event was witnessed by Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. The remaining seven (7) partner states are Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
The EAC’s founding members are Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.
The community expanded to a five-member bloc after the admission of Burundi and Rwanda and later on South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) joined the EAC.
According to EAC statistics before Somalia’s admission to the bloc, the community had about 300 million populations.