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1. President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged the leaders of the East African Community (EAC) to speed up the implementation of programs and projects that bring quick results for the benefit of the citizens of the EAC.
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3. Acknowledging the progress the EAC has made since its reestablishment more than two decades ago, the President emphasized the need for leaders to remain focused on community goals to fulfill the desire for an inclusive, equitable, and responsive integration process that addresses the daily needs of EAC residents.
4. “Citizens expect us to accelerate and implement programs and projects that will transform our region. Although the EAC is ranked as one of the most integrated Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa, our citizens still do not fully enjoy the freedoms and rights of integration.
5. “So our responsibility at all levels of leadership must be to ensure that the goals of establishing the community are on track,” the president said.
6. President Kenyatta spoke Friday as he addressed the 22nd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State of the East African Community at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
7. The Head of State said that East African citizens should be involved in all stages of the integration process, making them aware of what is happening in the community as part of ensuring inclusion.
8. “While I appreciate the efforts being made by partner states as well as community bodies and institutions to raise awareness, I believe we can and should do more to ensure that the people of East Africa are not left behind in integration. . process.
9. “Of equal importance are partnerships with all stakeholders in the integration process. Experience has shown that stakeholder partnership is the key to achieving global sustainable development. As we move forward, we must invest in developing collaboration with the private sector and development partners,” said President Kenyatta.
10. The president recalled that in re-establishing the EAC, the leaders envisioned four pillars, namely the Customs Union, the Common Market, the Monetary Union and the Political Federation to push forward the integration process.
11. “Among them, the implementation of the Customs Union established in 2005 and the Common Market established in 2010 are ongoing. Although slowly, the community has also made significant progress in the Monetary Union, whose protocol was ratified eight years ago”, said the President.
12. President Kenyatta took the opportunity to highlight some of the key achievements of the EAC during his tenure.
13. Achievements included ratification of the ambitious African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) trade pact by all EAC states and deepening financial integration where indigenous banks adopted a regional business model driven by consumer demand. customers.
14. Other achievements included the declassification of seas along the east coast of Africa by Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to reduce the cost of insurance and shipping and reduce the cost of doing business through the ports of Lamu, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.
15. President Kenyatta said that it was also during his tenure at the head of the EAC that Kenya and South Sudan waived visa requirements for their two citizens.
16. “Pursuant to Article 10 of the EAC Common Market Protocol, the two partner states have agreed to allow workers from each of their countries to accept employment within the territory of the other. South Sudan and Uganda have also waived visa requirements for their citizens,” the president said.
17. He added that during his tenure, Kenya and Uganda supported the construction of the Kshs 7 billion Angololo Irrigation and Water Resources Development Project which will benefit 127,000 people.
18. “The project will irrigate 3,300 hectares of farmland and supply water to 20,000 households in Kenya‘s Busia and Bungoma counties and Uganda‘s Tororo district. It will also generate 1.75 megawatts of hydroelectric power,” he said.
19. On the enlarged EAC region, President Kenyatta said he looked forward to Somalia‘s admission to the regional economic bloc.
20. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud attended the summit as a special guest and observer.
21. During the summit, President Kenyatta handed over the mantle of EAC leadership to President Ndayishimiye of Burundi and congratulated him on assuming the role of chair of the EAC Heads of State summit.
22. At the same time, President Kenyatta was appointed by the East African Community to be the facilitator of the peace process in DR Congo.
23. In his acceptance speech, President Évariste Ndayishimiye pledged to work closely with all EAC leaders to take the community to a higher level focused on improving the well-being of EAC citizens.
24. In their remarks, the host President Samia Suluhu Hassan and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda praised President Kenyatta for his visionary leadership of the EAC which saw the community record significant achievement during his tenure.
25. For his part, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who attended the summit as a special guest, affirmed his country’s commitment to join the EAC community.
26. Other speakers included Prime Ministers Édouard Ngirente of Rwanda and Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who represented Presidents Paul Kagame and Félix Antoine Tshisekedi, respectively, while South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit, he was represented by Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin at the one-day summit.
27. EAC Secretary General Dr. Peter Mathuki and East African Community and Kenya Regional Development CS Betty Maina, who is also the President of the EAC Council of Ministers, also spoke at the summit held under the theme “EAC: Deepening Integration, Broadening Cooperation”.
28. Earlier, President Kenyatta and President Samia Suluhu Hassan presided over the official opening of the 42.4 km Arusha Ring Road, one of three regional road projects that have benefited Arusha, the EAC headquarters.
29. The others include the 14 km Arusha-Tengeru dual carriageway which is part of the Arusha-Holili-Taveta-Voi highway and the 243 km Arusha-Namanga-Athi River highway which was completed and inaugurated by EAC leaders in 2012.
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The European Union and its Member States welcome the steps taken by the Government of Liberia and the Senate towards the legal abolition of the death penalty
The Armed Forces of Niger and the US Air Force discuss security in the region
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