![[PHOTOS]: Ruto arrives in Burundi for EAC summit](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com%2Fimage%2F2002%2F03%2FT7H7KU3v7xJEPFWMa9yvyffZpye68gyGcBNO-2llZNlIF3wDJRo3BIQffAzm0ic-hogBLs9Dey119SoODxlEDtdprZYBMN_ZgFFO0As7J1c.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
President William Ruto will on Friday jet out of the country to attend the 21st ordinary summit of the EAC Heads of State.
The event will be held on Friday, November 29, 2024, in Arusha, Tanzania.
Ruto revealed this in his speech during the 9th annual African Special Economic Zones meeting held at KICC, Nairobi on Thursday.
“Tomorrow in Arusha the Heads of State of the EAC will be meeting and among the targets we will be looking at is how to improve the business environment, how to integrate our economies more and the item of SEZ that was agreed on by ministers will be approved at the summit,“ Ruto said.
Ruto said the recently approved EAC Special Economic Zones Regulations of 2024 will ensure free movement of goods across member states bolstering regional integration and positioning economic zones as catalysts for industrialisation and growth.
“Tomorrow we will be expanding the horizon of SEZ to sell goods within the East African region,” he said.
The 20th EAC Summit was held on February 4, 2023, in Bujumbura, Burundi.
The Summit received reports on the security situation in the Eastern DRC.
The Heads of State directed immediate ceasefire by all parties, withdrawal including all foreign armed groups, that the process be accompanied by dialogue and violations to be reported to the chairperson of the Summit for immediate consultation with members of the Summit.
EAC Heads of State convened virtually for the 23rd Extra-Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State, on Friday, June 7, 2024.
The Extra-Ordinary Summit was chaired by the President of the Republic of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit, who was to consider the following matters:
Consideration of the proposed appointment of a new Secretary General.
Consideration of the proposed appointment of a Judge to the First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice from the Republic of Kenya.
The Heads of State were set to consider the report of the consultative meetings by the Chairperson of the Summit on Partner States' relations.
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of eight partner states, comprising the Republic of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Rwanda, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republic of South Sudan, the Republic of Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The Federal Republic of Somalia was admitted into the EAC bloc by the Summit of EAC Heads of State on November 23, 2023, and became a full member on March 4, 2024.
