East African Community

05/05/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/05/2021 00:35

EAC Secretary General to hold talk with Presidents Kagame and Museveni

EAC Secretary General to hold talk with Presidents Kagame and Museveni

Posted in Press Release

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 5th May, 2021: The EAC Secretary General, Hon (Dr.) Peter Mathuki will hold meetings with two members of the EAC Summit, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. The meetings will mark the Secretary General's first official engagement with the two Heads of State since he took office last month.

The Secretary General is expected to brief the Heads of State on various integration matters including progress on consolidation of the Customs Union, implementation of the Common Market and Monetary Union, and ongoing progress towards attainment of the EAC Political Federation.

Dr. Mathuki will also update the Heads of State on the progress and roadmap on the verification process of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia to join the Community and Integration of South Sudan into the EAC project and programmes.

The Secretary General will share his priority areas in the next five years, which include increased intra-EAC trade among the Partner States by at least 40 percent; and implementation of an EAC COVID-19 Response Plan on Economic Recovery including harmonization of protocols against COVID-19 in the region.

In addition, the Secretary General is expected to share his vision on how to strategically position the EAC region in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), through the removal of Non-Tariff Barriers and creation of opportunities for the private sector in the region. The private sector should be play the lead role assigned by the Treaty to anchor regional integration through strengthened markets and trade flow.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mathuki will also use the opportunity while in the two Partner States to visit EAC Institutions located in Rwanda and Uganda to familiarize himself with the Institutions and gain a deeper understanding of their contribution to the integration process as well as the challenges they face in the discharge of their mandates.

The Secretary General is expected to visit the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), in Rwanda; the Inter University Council of East Africa (IUCEA); and the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) in Uganda.

Dr. Mathuki will be accompanied by the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, Rt. Hon Martin Ngog; Judge President of East African Court of Justice, Justice Nestor Kayobera; Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productve and Social Sector, Hon Christophe Bazivamo; and Counsel to the Community, Dr. Anthony Kafumbe.

For more information, please contact:

Simon Peter Owaka
Senior Public Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 768 552087
Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org

About the East African Community Secretariat:

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001: 2015 Certified