The rise of the East African Community

Abstract

Since its establishment, the East African Community has made steady progress based on the series of its Development Strategies. Among the significant achievements are those in confidence building measures and harmonization of Partner States’ policies and programmes. A primary objective is to reinforce a common East African identity within the vision of a fully integrated East Africa. Recently, the EAC attained international recognition as the fastest growing Regional Economic Bloc in Africa. This was reported by the UK’s Guardian Newspaper. This recognition was a result of the major accomplishments the EAC has attained in the recent past. The EAC also emerged as the fastest integrating Regional Economic Community (REC) in the Continent according to the Africa Regional Integration Index Report 2016, jointly carried out by African Union Commission, African Development Bank and the United Nations Commission for Africa. According to the study, which covered eight recognized RECs in Africa, EAC emerged the best performing in Regional Integration.