Sudan shows interest to join East African Community

Dec 6, 2006 (DAR ES SALAM) — Sudan has expressed interest and willingness to join the East African Community (EAC), the Dar es Salaam based The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

The Sudanese Ambassador to Tanzania, Al Mughira Ali Omar, said they developed the idea of joining the EAC soon after the signing of Naivasha Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

“We nursed the idea of joining the EAC, especially after the signing of Naivasha Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” he said.

Omar said that since Southern Sudan was a land-locked, they had thought that it was important to link it with the EAC to enjoy the gains of regional integration.

“Southern Sudan is land-locked. Through joining the EAC, people of South Sudan can trade easily and efficiently with their EAC counterparts,” he said.

He said the projects like construction of an oil pipeline from Sudan to Mombasa, Kenya could easily take off if South Sudan would be linked to EAC.

Meanwhile, Sudan is hosting the international conference on African, Caribbean and Pacific in Khartoum.

The Sudanese Ambassador to Tanzania told The Guardian that the conference was expected to end on December 9, this year with the participation of 48 African countries.

Recently, the tiny Central African states of Rwanda and Burundi have been admitted into the East African Community.

(ST)