Somalia has submitted its application to join the East African Community (EAC).
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appealed to the members of the regional economic bloc to allow Somalia to join them.
The Somali President was in Arusha, Tanzania for EAC’s High-Level Retreat for the Summit.
The Summit ran from July 20-21.
Somalia is reapplying for admission into the regional economic bloc after seeing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan recently made EAC’s newest members.
President Mohamud first applied for admission to EAC during his first term from 2012-2017.
He reassured the EAC members that Somalia is now a stable country.
Mohamud reminded them that Somalis have spread their wings and now operate everywhere in the region.
“Admitting Somalia into EAC would increase its population and the market to more than 100 million people,” President Mohamud said during his presentation.
EAC’s combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would also improve to over $30 trillion with Somalia’s inclusion.
Currently, EAC’s members include Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.