President Museveni in Tanzania for 20 Ordinary East African Community meeting

Elisha Z. Bwanika

President Museveni is due to address the 20^th Ordinary East African Community (EAC) Summit of heads of state. The President, also current chairman of the EAC, arrived in Arusha, Tanzania on Thursday.

Tanzania’s John Pombe Magufuli and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, as well as representatives from Burundi and Rwanda will attend the meeting, a follow up of the 19^th ordinary summit that was held at Munyonyo in Kampala.

The 38th ordinary meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers preceded it.

A statement from the EAC secretariat mentioned the items on the provisional agenda of the Summit as the status of ratification of various protocols; the status of resolution of long outstanding non-tariff barriers, and; the progress report on the adoption of Political Confederation as a Transitional Model to the East African Political Federation. Other items on the Agenda include: the roadmap for the accelerated integration of the Republic of South Sudan into the EAC, and; the verification exercise for the admission of the Republic of Somalia into the Community.

At their 19th Ordinary Meeting held in Kampala, Uganda on 23rd February, 2018, the Summit directed the EAC Council of Ministers to explore the possibilities of developing the automotive industry in East Africa by reducing the importation of used vehicles from outside the region and thereby make the region more competitive.

The President was welcomed at the Kilimanjaro International Airport by Palamagamba Kabudi, Tanzania’s minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Uganda’s Second Deputy Prime Minister Kirunda Kivejinja and Deputy attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana.

Others to receive him included Uganda’s ambassador to Tanzania Richard Kabonero, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amb. Patrick Mugoya, the Permanent Secretary EAC Affairs Edith Mwanje, Ugandas’ Ambassador to Rwanda Olive Wonekha and Uganda’s Ambassador to South Sudan Brigadier Ronnie Barya.