President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, left, shakes hands with Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud during the EAC Summit of Heads of State in Arusha, Tanzania on Nov. 24, 2023 where Somalia was officially admitted into the East African Community (EAC) trading bloc. Photo: Courtesy EAC
President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, left, shakes hands with Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud during the EAC Summit of Heads of State in Arusha, Tanzania on Nov. 24, 2023 where Somalia was officially admitted into the East African Community (EAC) trading bloc. Photo: Courtesy EAC

Somalia officially joined the Community of East African States (EAC) on Friday, the regional organization with a single market allowing the free movement of goods and people announced.

The EAC, which has its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, now comprises 8 countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC was the last member to join the regional organisation, in 2022.

The member countries have “decided to admit the Federal Republic of Somalia under the accession treaty”, declared Burundian Head of State Évariste Ndayishimiye, outgoing President of the EAC.

Excluding Somalia, the EAC countries cover an area of 4.8 million square kilometres and have a combined gross domestic product of 305 billion dollars, according to the organisation’s website.

With a population of some 17 million, Somalia has the longest coastline on the African continent (more than 3,000 km), bringing the EAC’s potential market to more than 300 million people.

The Somali government, supported by the international community, has been fighting the insurgency of the radical Islamist Shebab, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, for over 16 years. Kenya and Uganda are contributing troops to an African Union force deployed in Somalia to fight the rebels.

Somalia’s entry into the EAC is “a decisive step in the bloc’s expansion into East Africa”, notes the Mogadishu-based Heritage Institute for Policy Studies think-tank, but points to “Somalia’s poor record on governance, human rights and the rule of law” which could hamper its integration into the bloc.

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Founded in 1846, The Associated Press is a non-profit news agency that operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. Its members are U.S. newspapers and broadcasters.

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