APA-Mogadishu (Somalia) Somalia is the latest country to join the East African Community (EAC) after DR Congo became a member of the bloc last March, APA can report on Friday.
Reacting to its membership of the EAC, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud described it as a new beginning for his country which has been rocked by political instability since 1991.
He said Somalia was looking to tap into “new opportunities” being offered by joining the seven-member bloc which agreed to admit the country during a heads of state summit in the Tanzanian city of Arusha.
The EAC comprises Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda.
The bloc has an area of 4,810,363 square kilometers and population of 312,362,653 according to a 2022 estimate and a GDP of US$923.532 billion,
Somalia’s membership was tabled for discussion by the bloc last August.
The East African Community has made it its mission to bring under one umbrella countries in the Horn of Africa for the economic benefit of the people and businesses in the region.
Djibouti and Ethiopia could become members of the EAC in the next few months if the words of its Secretary General Peter Mathuki are anything to go by.
WN/as/APA