The East African Community (EAC) is the main and most ambitious integration project in the region. The modern history of the EAC began in 1999 with the signing of the Agreement on the Restoration of the organization, which entered into force in July 2000.
The original founding members of the association were Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, who revived the idea of integration after the collapse of the first EAC in 1977. Today, the EAC unites eight States: Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The total population of the EAC is more than 302 million people, and the total GDP is estimated at about $312.9 billion.
The EAC integration strategy is based on four consecutive pillars: the customs union (elimination of internal tariffs and the introduction of a single external tariff to stimulate intraregional trade), the common market (ensuring the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor), the monetary union (creating a single currency system to reduce transaction costs) and the political federation, involving the creation of a single political entity.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) was officially established in 1996 as the successor to the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD). IGAD consists of eight States: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. The population of the region exceeds 300 million people. The organization's headquarters are located in Djibouti.
IGAD's activities cover three strategic objectives: protecting the environment and ensuring food security, maintaining and strengthening peace, security and humanitarian stability in the region, as well as deepening economic cooperation and regional integration.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) was established in December 1994 to replace the Preferential Trade Zone that had existed since 1981. It is the largest economic association on the continent: it includes 21 states with a population of more than 640 million people and a combined GDP of about $1 trillion. COMESA members include such key countries in the region as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Sudan, and others. The headquarters is located in Lusaka (Zambia).
COMESA's main priorities include the creation of a full-fledged free trade area, the formation of a customs union, the harmonization of macroeconomic and monetary policies, as well as the development of transport and communications infrastructure.
COMESA has a well-developed institutional structure, including the Court, the Council of Ministers, the Committee of Heads of Central Banks, as well as specialized financial institutions: a Trade and Development Bank, a Clearing House, a Reinsurance Company and a Competition Commission.
An important feature of the architecture of East African unions is the overlapping membership. Most of the countries in the region are simultaneously members of the EAC, IGAD and COMESA, which creates both advantages (access to different markets) and challenges (duplication of obligations, inconsistency of rules). All three EAC, IGAD and COMESA organizations are recognized by the African Union as Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and are considered as building blocks for the creation of the African Economic Community under the 1991 Abuja Treaty.
The Trilateral Free Trade Area, which unites COMESA, EAC and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), deserves special attention. This initiative covers 26 states, more than 527 million people, and a combined GDP of over $600 billion, making it a key element of continental integration.
Overall, overlapping membership creates unique opportunities for the countries of the region to maneuver and diversify partnerships, while requiring alignment of regulatory frameworks and policies. The development of these alliances, their coordination among themselves and interaction with the African Union will determine the contours of the future of regional integration on the continent.
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