18th EAC Ordinary summit
| 18th EAC Ordinary summit The 18th Ordinary summit of Heads of State of The East African Community | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Host country | Tanzania |
| Date | 20 May 2017 |
| Venue(s) | State House |
| Cities | Dar-es-salaam |
| Participants |  Burundi Kenya Rwanda South Sudan Tanzania Uganda |
| Follows | 17th EAC Extra Ordinary summit |
| Precedes | 19th EAC Ordinary summit |
The 18th EAC Ordinary summit was held on 20 May 2017 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The focus of the summit was the European Union and East African Community Economic Partnership agreement. Also on the agenda of the meeting was the status of the EAC political federation and the speedy integration of South Sudan.[1] The leadership of the community was also transferred from John Magufuli of Tanzania to Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. The Burundian crisis was significantly neglected during the summit, however, Yoweri Museveni the new chairman of the member bloc vowed to quickly find a solution to the crisis.[2][3]
Participants
| Country | Title | Dignitary |
|---|---|---|
| Burundi
|
Vice President | Gaston Sindimwo |
| Kenya
|
Deputy-President | William Ruto |
| Rwanda
|
Minister of Trade and East African Affairs | François Kanimba |
| Uganda
|
President | Yoweri Museveni |
| Tanzania
|
President | John Magufuli |
| Observing Participants | ||
| South Sudan
|
Special envoy | Aggery Sabuni[4] |
Agenda
Economic Partnership Agreement
The key agenda of the meeting was the EU-EAC Economic partnership agreement. Museveni reiterated that countries such as Kenya and Rwanda that have signed the agreement should not be penalized by the European Union and the countries that have not signed the agreement can not sign the agreement pending various clarifications from the EU. Museveni agreed to lead a delegation of the bloc economic members to Europe to solve various disagreements.[5]
Burundi
The Burundian unrest was discussed as one of the problems during the tenure of John Magufuli and that not much progress has been made to resolve the issue. The summit was not attended by Pierre Nkurunziza, president of Burundi. The delay in the resolution was attributed to the lack of motivation between the disputed parties to negotiate a settlement.[6] Furthermore, the leaders iterated the EU to lift sanctions on Burundi.[5]
Somalia
The leaders read the report on the admission criteria of Somalia into the East African community. Various local leaders warned against the admission of the war torn country until the country can fix its security issues.[7]
References
- ^ "18th EAC Heads of State set for 20th May 2017, in Dar | East African Community". www.eac.int. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ Uwimana, Diane (23 May 2017). "East Africa: EAC Heads of State Seem to Neglect Burundi Crisis, Politicians Say". Iwacu (Bujumbura). Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ "EAC SUMMIT: Museveni promises to resolve EPA disagreement". The Independent Uganda. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ "Joint Communiqué: 18th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State of the East African Community". Archived from the original on 3 June 2017.
- ^ a b MWAKYUSA, ALVAR. "New EAC chair eyes EPA resolve". dailynews.co.tz. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ "Nkurunziza misses 18th EAC heads of state summit | IOL". Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ Ubwani, Zephania (22 May 2017). "East Africa: Tread Carefully on Somalia, EAC Told". The Citizen (Dar es Salaam). Retrieved 4 June 2017.