esides economic cooperation and integration, the East African Community is involved in stabilization efforts in the region. For instance, it is playing a key role in organizing the peace process in DR Congo, which has been troubled by recurring conflict since the 1990s.
A single currency for the East African Community (EAC) can be achieved within the next three or four years, Peter Mathuki, the bloc’s secretary general, has reportedly said.
"This year will are going to finalize where we will have the East Africa Monetary institute – the constitution that will create a roadmap for having one currency. Hopefully in the next 3-4 years will have a common currency," the official said.
The initial deadline for the project was 2024, but a technical working group later said that it should be moved to 2031. According to the secretary general's latest statements, the plan could be implemented sooner than expected.
"The single currency will ease business and movement of persons within the region. It is in line with our goal to make the region borderless so that people can move and trade freely as envisioned in the Common Market Protocol," Mathuki pointed out.
The Common Market Protocol has been in force since 2010 with the goal of creation of the common currency, and, in eventually, a full political federation.
Mathuki also stressed the positive trends in the development of intra-bloc trade, noting that the value of trade between member states reached $9.5 billion in 2022, compared to the 2019 figure of $7.1 billion.
It has also been reported that the EAC is sending a delegation to Somalia in connection with the country’s intention to join the bloc. Representatives of the Horn of Africa nation applied for Somalia's membership in the community in March 2012.
According to Mathuki, Somalia's entry to the organization could be of great value for the EAC.
"The exploitation of Somalia’s blue economy resources such as fish and the expansive coastline is also set to boost the regional economy," he noted.
East African nations have a long history of close cooperation. One of the successive regional organizations, the EAC was created in 1967 and was active before its dissolution in 1977. The bloc was reestablished in 2000, currently consisting of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda. Since 2008, the bloc has been part of a common free trade area with the Southern African Development Community and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
https://sputniknews.com/20230114/eac-single-currency-can-be-achieved-in-three-or-four-years---secretary-general-1106313207.html
Mohsen Rezaee, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, has said preconditions include reparations and security guarantees
For the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US to conclude, the latter must withdraw its military forces from the Persian Gulf, according to a member of the advisory board of Iran’s supreme leader.
Mohsen Rezaee, a retired major general and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), added that Tehran would also seek full restitution for the damage done and ironclad security guarantees from Washington.
In an interview with Iran’s SNN TV broadcaster published on Saturday, the member of the Expediency Discernment Council said that the “presence of the US in the Persian Gulf has been the main cause of insecurity over the past 50 years.”
“The end of the war is also in our hands,” Rezaee claimed, naming the “US withdrawal from the Persian Gulf” among the key prerequisites. Additionally, Iran expects to receive reparations from the ...
The spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has accused the United States and Israel of deploying a rebranded copy of Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, designated “Lucas,” to carry out attacks on civilian infrastructure in regional countries as part of a deliberate false-flag operation aimed at framing the Islamic Republic.
In an official statement released today, the spokesman explained that after suffering military setbacks on the battlefield and failing to build political coalitions against Iran, the enemy has resorted to deception.
The statement specifically warned that the objective of these operations is to “create doubt and accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran” while sowing discord between Tehran and its neighbors, thereby undermining the legitimacy of Iran’s defensive actions.
The spokesman pointed to a series of “suspicious attacks” in recent days on facilities in friendly neighboring countries, including Turkey, Kuwait, and Iraq, which Western media outlets and hostile ...
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced the execution of the 51st wave of Operation True Promise 4, launching missile strikes against US military installations across the region in retaliation for ongoing American-Israeli aggression against the country.
The IRGC announced the latest wave was carried out using a combination of liquid-fuel and solid-fuel missiles against US terrorist army forces at the Al Kharj Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
According to the IRGC statement, Al Kharj base served as the "origin of aggressions against the Islamic homeland," functioning as the staging ground for US F-35 and F-16 fighter jets involved in attacks on Iran.
The base also houses fuel supply aircraft and serves as the main hub for American AWACS surveillance planes.
Concurrently, the spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters confirmed that the fiftieth wave of the operation struck multiple US terrorist army bases.
They include the Al Dhafra Air Base and Fujairah in the UAE, Jufair in ...
