Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga will outline the remarkable progress of the East African Community’s regional integration, highlighting milestones in trade harmonisation and policy alignment that are fueling growth across East Africa. Over the past 25 years, the EAC has evolved into one of Africa’s most integrated economic blocs, now encompassing eight countries from Burundi to Somalia. Kadaga’s briefing will showcase how deeper integration has delivered tangible benefits – from faster cross-border trade to unified standards – and will chart the next steps for policy alignment among partner states.
EAC officials and stakeholders convene to discuss regional integration achievements and next steps. Key achievements of EAC integration will be front and center in Kadaga’s presentation. Under the Customs Union and Common Market protocols, intra-EAC trade has been liberalized and the movement of goods, services, and people greatly easedeac.int. One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) now streamline customs procedures at key frontier points, cutting border crossing times by an estimated 70% and saving traders over USD 63 million annuallyeac.int. Major transport corridors have been improved – transit times from Mombasa (Kenya) to Kampala (Uganda) have plunged from 18 days to about 4–5 days, and from Mombasa to Kigali (Rwanda) from 21 days to just 3 dayseac.int. Such efficiency gains have propelled a surge in commerce: intra-EAC trade expanded from USD 6.2 billion in 2017 to USD 13.8 billion in 2023, reflecting the impact of reduced barriers and coordinated policieseac.int. Meanwhile, initiatives like the EAC electronic passport and a Single Tourist Visa (already enabling free movement of tourists between Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda) have enhanced mobility, and Mutual Recognition Agreements allow professionals (engineers, accountants, etc.) to work across member states without cumbersome re-certificationeac.inteac.int.
Kadaga will note that policy harmonisation efforts are ongoing to further cement these gains. The EAC has made significant strides in standardizing regulations and removing non-tariff barriers, implementing common standards that ease the flow of products region-wideafricanleadershipmagazine.co.uk. She is expected to address recent calls by business leaders to finalise the harmonisation of product standards and taxes, so that no partner state uses regulations to undercut othersugandaradionetwork.net. Areas like sanitary standards, customs documentation, and investment codes are being aligned to ensure a level playing field for all EAC members. Additionally, the bloc’s commitment to a Monetary Union (with plans for a regional central bank and eventually a single currency) is in progress, albeit cautiously – with consensus now building around a phased approach via a monetary confederation as confidence between nations growsugandaradionetwork.netugandaradionetwork.net.
Crucially, Kadaga will emphasize the political will that underpins EAC integration. The heads of state have collectively expanded the Community (bringing in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2022 and Somalia in 2024) and resolved disputes that impeded free trade. “With integration, there will be a big market for our products. With the addition of DRC to the EAC, our market has widened to over 300 million people, and through that we get more opportunities for our people,” Kadaga said recently, underscoring that East African integration is vital for prosperitynilepost.co.ug. She has been candid that “we can’t survive without integration”nilepost.co.ug – a message she is likely to reinforce, highlighting that unity in economic and trade policy is the path to shared development.
Looking ahead, Kadaga’s presentation will outline upcoming integration priorities. These include fully operationalizing the EAC Trade Remedies Committee to swiftly handle trade disputesugandaradionetwork.net, expediting the adoption of a region-wide digital trade regime (e-commerce frameworks and digital payment integration), and aligning EAC trade rules with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to open the region to the wider African marketeac.int. As the EAC continues to harmonise policies and remove the few remaining bottlenecks, Kadaga will affirm the Community’s vision of “one people, one destiny” – an EAC where goods, capital, and citizens move as freely as within a single country, heralding a new era of opportunity for East Africa.
