Presidents Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia (left), Salva Kiir of South Sudan (centre) and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda (right) look at the new depiction of the East African Community on a map after Somalia signed the Treaty of Accession to the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC, becoming the eighth member of the bloc on December 15, 2023.
A key question for East Africans who are passionate about regional integration is, how well is the East African Community (EAC) doing in terms of the promotion of intra-regional trade? The answer is not as simple as one might expect.
On August 24, The EastAfrican published an article by Luke Anami, which stated: “The EAC may have to blame itself for slow trade between its partner States, even though the bloc has some of the most ambitious business protocols on the continent. In spite of these, trade between members has reduced from 16 percent to 14 percent in recent years, signalling persistent protectionism and defiance of the bloc’s policies.”
