ARUSHA, Tanzania – The president of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud touched down in Arusha, Tanzania on Thursday ahead of the regional summit on Friday, November 24.
The president was warmly welcomed by the secretary of the East African Community and other officials in EAC headquarters in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha.
The EAC leaders will discuss Somalia’s admission into the alliance as the 8th member.
Negotiations between the East African Community (EAC) and the Federal Republic of Somalia on the war-torn country’s bid to join the EAC have been ongoing for years.
The EAC now groups Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Somalia has been awaiting membership since 2016.
In February 2023, the 43rd ordinary meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers met in Burundi to review a report of the verification mission on the admission of Somalia into the regional bloc.
