Museveni takes over EAC Chairmanship

Arusha, Tanzania | THE INDEPENDENT | Outgoing Chairperson of the East African Community, President William Ruto, has handed over leadership of the regional bloc to Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni after outlining key milestones and reforms achieved during his tenure.

Speaking during the 25th Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State, Ruto said the regional bloc had made significant progress in strengthening trade, improving infrastructure, enhancing digital integration and advancing peace efforts in the region.

He said the Community is “marching forward towards an even more integrated and prosperous future,” citing strong growth in trade among partner states and major policy reforms agreed upon by leaders. Ruto said trade among partner states continued to expand significantly over the past year.

According to him, intra-EAC trade rose by nearly 22 percent, growing from $33 billion in 2024 to $40.3 billion in 2025. Exports grew even faster, increasing by 32 percent to $19.6 billion, while imports rose by 13 percent to $20 billion, narrowing the region’s trade deficit.

Ruto said the bloc is now moving closer to achieving a trade surplus with external markets. “Trade among our partner states has continued to register positive growth. We are exporting more than we are importing, and we are making progress.”

“Trade among our partner states is rising strongly, and the region is moving closer to a trade surplus,” he said.

He reported that exports within the region grew significantly by 32 percent to 19.6 billion, while imports rose more moderately by 13 percent to 20 billion dollars.

“This has significantly narrowed the region’s trade deficit from US dollars 3.4 billion to US dollars 1 billion during the same period. In other words, we are exporting more than we are importing, and we are making progress.”

He announced the launch of the East African Customs Bond, a trade facilitation tool under the Single Customs Territory framework.

The system, which was piloted in Uganda, is expected to strengthen customs security and ensure efficient movement of goods across borders.

Ruto described the bond as a key milestone in improving regional trade logistics.

A key highlight of our meeting today will be the launch of the East African Customs Bond under the Single Customs Territory. The Customs Bond was rolled out by partner states in January 2025 after a successful pilot in the Republic of Uganda.

“This trade facilitation instrument will enhance customs security to ensure payment of duties and taxes if goods placed under customs control are not properly delivered or accounted for. The launch of this bond is therefore a key milestone in strengthening the implementation of the Single Customs Territory and facilitating the movement of goods across our region,” he said.

Private Sector and SMEs Driving Economic Transformation.

Ruto said the region continues to prioritize the private sector and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as engines of economic growth.

He highlighted the 25th EAC MSME Trade Fair held in Nairobi in 2025, which attracted more than 2,000 participants from across the region.

The event showcased innovation, created opportunities for businesses and strengthened regional cooperation. “

The private sector and small businesses are central to the economic transformation of our community.”

He noted that small businesses and the private sector are the real drivers of East Africa’s economic transformation.

“Our engagement with the private sector also focused on our shared objective to promote a culture of quality production across all sectors of our economy while enhancing the role of women in regional trade.”

Progress on Peace Efforts in Eastern DRC 

On security, Ruto said regional leaders had coordinated efforts to restore peace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. He noted that the peace process combining the Nairobi and Luanda initiatives is now under the leadership of the African Union, with African facilitators and a mediator supporting negotiations.

“The African process towards restoring peace and security in eastern DRC is now fully under the leadership of the African Union.”

Ruto highlighted several major infrastructure projects aimed at improving connectivity across the region.

These include road corridors linking Nairobi, Kampala, Kisumu, and cross-border transport routes. He also pointed to the Kenya–Uganda Standard Gauge Railway project, which aims to reduce travel time between Nairobi and Kampala from 14 hours to just four hours once completed.

Ruto said construction of the railway extension will soon begin in Kisumu with President Museveni.

He said better roads, railways, and ports will transform trade and connectivity across East Africa.

“In fact, on the 20th of this month, we will be launching the actual construction of the rail in Kisumu with President Museveni here. The Tanzania SGR services, which started on 14th June 2024, move an average of 10,000 passengers a day from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma, while freight services from Pugu Station to Ihumwa’s ICF started on 27th June last year,” said Ruto, who has chaired the EAC bloc for close to two years.

The EAC is also positioning itself to benefit from emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.

Ruto said the Community joined the Artificial Intelligence for Good Impact initiative and adopted the United Nations Global Digital Compact, steps aimed at building a single digital market.

He said technology will play a critical role in connecting businesses and governments across the region. “Emerging technologies can leapfrog the development of our region and create immense opportunities for our people.”

“The community has the opportunity to leverage emerging technologies to drive economic transformation for our youthful population. A deliberate and strategic focus on development of an integrated digital infrastructure, harmonization of ICT policies, and promotion of digital literacy across the region can leapfrog the development of our region by connecting businesses and governments while creating immense opportunities for our people”

One of the most significant decisions taken by the summit was a reform of how member states finance the EAC.

Previously, countries contributed equal amounts to the regional budget. Under the new formula, 50 percent of contributions will remain equal, while the other 50 percent will be based on the size of each country’s economy.

Ruto said this would make contributions more fair and sustainable. “Countries with bigger economies and that benefit more from the community should contribute more.”

“We have also agreed that the community will waive 50 percent of the areas and the 50 percent remaining should be paid within two years. We have also agreed on some consequential decisions on how to run the affairs of our community because the statute that established the community was formulated when we had only three countries and there was no need for a quorum. It is increasingly becoming difficult to get a consensus of all countries now that we are eight and counting.”    We have therefore taken the decision that decisions of the community will be made by consensus or by 65 percent of members

“The new contribution formula makes financing the Community fairer for all member states.”   The summit also agreed that salaries of members of the East African Legislative Assembly will now be paid by their respective national parliaments.

Ruto said the decision was necessary because EALA expenses currently consume nearly 30 percent of the EAC budget. Under the new arrangement, the EAC will only pay allowances during official parliamentary sessions.

“Member states will now pay salaries of their EALA representatives to ease pressure on the Community budget.”

Leaders also agreed that countries nominating candidates for top EAC positions must first meet all treaty obligations. These positions include the Secretary-General, Speaker of EALA, President of the East African Court of Justice, and two Deputy Secretaries-General. Ruto said the move would strengthen political commitment to the regional bloc.

“Countries must meet their treaty obligations before nominating candidates for senior EAC positions.”

He said Significant implementation milestones have been achieved on key arteries, including a feasibility study for the Nairobi-Nakuru-Meru Summit Highway in Kenya, the Kampala-Jinja and Jinja-Malaba-Busia-Kisumu Road Corridors in Uganda, and the Morogoro-Chalinze section in Tanzania.

“A market-sounding conference for the Jinja-Malaba-Busia-Kisumu section was held in November 2025. The construction of the Mombasa-Tanga-Bagamoyo Coastal Road has progressed to 62% completion, with 460 kilometers of the 720 stretch already operational. Opening new economic corridors and reducing transit time for cargo by 40%. In a similar trajectory, the rail transportation sector has witnessed a remarkable transformation.

Ruto also highlighted efforts to conclude the East African Community–European Union Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), calling it a critical step to ensure fair access to international markets for regional products.

He said a study conducted by the Secretariat found strong consensus among partner states to finalize the deal.

“Ladies and gentlemen, a key obstacle to trade in our region is the ever-evolving non-tariff barriers that continue to hinder effective trade between and among partner states. Eliminating NTBs, enhancing infrastructure connectivity, and regulatory harmonization remain key priority among my stewardship of the community. I am therefore pleased to inform you that our concerted efforts to eliminate non-tariff barriers have yielded results, with the number of reported barriers declining by about 56 percent from 61 NTBs in 2024 to 27 NTBs in 2025.” He said.

Ruto concluded by thanking fellow heads of state and regional institutions for their cooperation during his tenure. He formally handed over the chairmanship of the EAC Heads of State Summit to President Yoweri Museveni, expressing confidence that the Community would continue advancing regional integration.

“I wish the incoming chair great success as they steer the community towards the realization of our common vision of a prosperous East African region.

“I hand over the chairmanship confident that the Community will continue moving forward.”

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