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President William Ruto has been elected as the chairman of the East African Community (EAC) during the 24th summit for the Heads of State in Arusha, Tanzania, on Saturday, November 30, 2024.

President Ruto takes over from his South Sudan counterpart, Salva Kiir, who is also in attendance.

“The President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. @WilliamsRuto, takes over the Chairmanship of the EAC from the President of the Republic of South Sudan, H.E. Salva Kiir,” a statement from the EAC read.

Ruto’s address

Ruto addressed the summit, where he cited a 2010 survey that indicated East Africans were fully behind the integration process and supported the establishment of a political federation.

“President Ruto hailed the Republics of Burundi, Uganda, and Kenya, which have already undertaken national consultations on the drafting of the constitution for the EAC Political Confederation, and thanked Rwanda, South Sudan, and Tanzania for having set dates for national consultations on the process.

“President Ruto said that EAC was the foremost regional economic community in Africa, with intra-regional trade standing between 25-28 per cent, which is the highest in Africa,” Ruto said as per a statement from EAC.

The Kenyan president also touched on trade, where he said more states were benefiting from the share of intraregional trade, with Tanzania having overtaken Kenya in terms of the volumes of intraregional trade.

He also emphasized the importance of peace and security as prerequisites for local and foreign direct investment.

Ruto also talked about the mediation efforts that are ongoing in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo aimed at ending political instability in those countries.

“Kenya has provided a forum for South Sudan’s political actors to talk to one another in order to stabilise the country. Kenya is also working with Somalia and Uganda to reduce tension and stabilise the Horn of Africa region.

“Kenya is in agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s desire to merge the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes under the Luanda process. Kenya has no reservations with the Nairobi Process mediator, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, being enjoined to the Luanda process,” the EAC statement added.