EAC Affairs

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising eight Partner States including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, which is headquartered in Arusha, Tanzania and serves as a critical hub for regional cooperation in Africa as it provides a unified platform for advancing shared economic and geopolitical interests while fostering collective development and integration across the region.

The East African Community has a combined population exceeding 302 million people and spans an area of 5.4 million square kilometers, reflecting the vastness and diversity of the region, which holds significant strategic importance both within Africa and on the global stage, with a collective Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately USD 312.9 billion, further highlighting its economic significance and growth potential.

The primary mission of the EAC is to deepen regional integration and strengthen collaboration among Partner States across political, economic, and social spheres with an ambitious agenda that includes facilitating trade, promoting investment, and creating a unified bloc to foster prosperity and stability for the benefit of its citizens, positioning the EAC as one of the fastest-growing regional economic communities globally and a model of collective development and progress.

The EAC was established with the signing of its foundational Treaty on 30 November 1999, coming into effect on 7 July 2000, with Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda as the founding members, who laid the groundwork for this transformative initiative, which has since grown to include additional Partner States, reflecting its expanding role in regional integration and cooperation across East Africa.

Since its inception, the organization has expanded to include Rwanda and Burundi in 2007, South Sudan in 2016, the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2022, and Somalia in 2024, reflecting its growing influence and increasing strategic importance.

The primary objective of the EAC is to deepen and broaden cooperation among its member states across political, economic, and social dimensions, with the goal of fostering greater integration and collaboration that ultimately benefits the region as a whole.

Key milestones in the EAC’s integration agenda include the establishment of the Customs Union to promote intra-regional trade, the creation of the Common Market in 2010 to facilitate the free movement of goods, services, capital, and labor, and the implementation of the Monetary Union Protocol to enhance economic stability and competitiveness.

The integration efforts of the Community are steadily advancing toward the ultimate goal of establishing an East African Federation, and to facilitate this process, the Heads of State adopted the Political Confederation as a transitional model in 2017, which serves as a critical step in strengthening regional cohesion and cooperation.

The EAC remains one of the fastest-growing regional economic communities globally, reflecting the commitment of its Partner States to regional stability, cooperation, and development, while its strategic initiatives and collaborative framework continue to position the region as a hub of opportunity and innovation, fostering growth and enhancing its global economic standing.