President William Ruto jetted out of the country on Thursday, March 14, to attend a meeting with his colleagues, Samia Suluhu (Tanzania) and Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) in Zanzibar
In a statement, Ruto revealed that the meeting was centred around the economic and political integration of the East African Community (EAC).
In particular, the proposed formation of the EAC Political Confederation was discussed with the leaders underpinning the importance of involving their citizens in the process.
On her part, Suluhu added that they also discussed the ongoing conflict in parts of the EAC region, further, affirming their calls for peace and unity.
"In their discussions, they have talked about East African conflict issues, especially the importance of speeding up the exercise of gathering citizens' views on the structure and areas to be considered in the draft constitution of the East African Political Confederation (EAC Political Confederation).
"The exercise has already taken place in Burundi, Uganda and Kenya and is being carried out by a team of experts made up of three delegates from each member country," read a statement in part by Tanzania's State House.
Notably, the meeting coincided with the same date of Presidents Museveni, Daniel Moi and Benjamin Mkapa's meeting where they discussed strategies for the formation of the EAC.
In celebrations of the milestone, Museveni presented a picture of the 1996 meeting to the Suluhu, who was the host.
"As leaders among the eight EAC partner states, we reaffirm our unwavering support for further regional integration and prosperity, focusing on fast-tracking the federation.
"This vision is informed by the unity of our diverse communities, the economic benefits of creating a larger market, and the imperative of security for stability within our expanded Community," Ruto added.
The President's team did not reveal the details of the travel plans earlier. This, therefore, made the Thursday meeting a surprise.
Meanwhile, the meeting also happened while Kenya continues to lobby to have former Prime Minister Raila Odinga elected as the African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson.
As earlier indicated by Ruto, the EAC will field one candidate as they push to clinch the seat currently held by Moussa Faki of Chad.
