ARUSHA (Halbeeg News) – The East Africa Community (EAC) Council of Ministers will meet to consider the Report of the recently concluded Verification Mission assessing Somalia’s readiness to join the EAC.
In their 43rd Ordinary Meeting slated for 23rd February, the council of ministers from the bloc will discuss findings relating to the institutional frameworks in place, legal frameworks, policies, strategies, projects and programmes, areas of cooperation with other EAC partner states and expectations from membership.
On Sunday, EAC Secretary General, Peter Mathuki held talks with the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on the sidelines of the AU Summit.
Mathuki briefed President Hassan on the progress of Somalia’s application to join the bloc amongst other regional issues.
Late last month, a team of experts from partner states of EAC officially launched the verification mission to assess Somalia’s readiness to join the regional bloc.
The team assessed Somalia’s development strategies and plans in key areas of collaboration, including infrastructure, energy, education and science, peace and security, and international cooperation.
Somalia has the longest national coastline of over 3,000km in Africa, linking Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, which the region will tap into to increase intra-regional trade.
The team also reviewed the status of Somalia in international law and establish the country’s readiness to join the EAC Customs Union, Common Market Protocol, Monetary Union and ongoing political confederation constitutional framework.
If admitted, Somalia will join the seven-member bloc, becoming the eight partner states.
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