Monday ,22-April-2024 {HMC} Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre met with members of the Parliament of the East African Community (EAC) in Mogadishu on Sunday to address the final technicalities needed to facilitate Somalia’s engagement with the East African Market.
“I urge the members of the EAC Regional bloc to continue supporting efforts to harmonize policies and regulations, creating a conducive business environment for investors and entrepreneurs. Let us further bolster cooperation in regional security and the advancement of peace and stability,” Prime Minister Hamsa Abdi Barre emphasized during the meeting.
Barre presented Somalia’s potential contributions to the East African Community and underscored the benefits member countries could derive from Somalia’s inclusion. He highlighted Somalia’s abundant natural resources and its people’s dynamic and creative nature.
Last month, Somalia achieved full membership status in the East African Community (EAC) after fulfilling all the requirements for joining the regional bloc. With this development, Somalia joins Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda as the eighth member of the EAC.
The EAC was established in 2000 and is headquartered in Arusha. Its mission has been to foster economic growth by eliminating customs duties among member states. In 2010, it established a common market.
Since 1991 when Somalia’s government collapsed, leading to three decades of political instability and the rise of al-Shabab, the country’s trade volume with its neighbours shrank rapidly.
