President Museveni and the chairman of East African Community has arrived in Tanzania to address the 20th Ordinary Meeting of the Summit of the regional Heads of State at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) in Arusha.
The meeting was slated for November last year however it was postponed to due to a lack of quorum caused by the absence of the Republic of Burundi.
According to Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure of the Summit of the EAC Heads of State, quorum is made of all Partner States representation which is in consonance with decision making by consensus under Article 12 of the Treaty.
Heads of state are expected to discuss the status of ratification of various protocols, the status of resolution of long outstanding non-tariff barriers and the progress report on the adoption of Political Confederation as a Transitional Model to the East African Political Federation.
Sates men will also deliberate on the roadmap for the accelerated integration of the Republic of South Sudan into the EAC and the verification exercise for the admission of the Republic of Somalia into the Community.
The Summit will also consider reports on modalities for the promotion of Motor Vehicle Assembly in East Africa aimed at reducing importation of used vehicles into the Community, and; the review of the textile and leather sector with a view to developing a strong and competitive domestic sector that gives consumers better choice than imported textile and footwear.
At their 19th Ordinary Meeting held in Kampala, Uganda on 23rd February, 2018, the Summit directed the EAC Council of Ministers to explore the possibilities of developing the automotive industry in East Africa by reducing the importation of used vehicles from outside the region and thereby make the region more competitive.
The Summit, at the same meeting in Kampala, directed the Council to make the region more competitive by prioritising the development of a competitive domestic textile and leather sector that will give East Africans a wider range of choices in terms of affordable, new and quality clothes, shoes and other leather products.
The forthcoming Summit will also review progress report by the Council of Ministers on the Summit Directive on having two Deputy Secretaries General at the Community recruited competitively on a rotational basis among the Partner States.
The Summit at its 19th Ordinary Meeting held in Kampala, decided that there will only be two Deputy Secretaries General at the EAC who shall be recruited competitively on a rotational basis.
The Summit is expected to assent to various Bills passed by the East Legislative Assembly, namely: the EAC Polythene Materials Control Bill, 2016, the Administration of the East African Court of Justice Bill, 2018, the EAC Monetary Institute Bill, 2018, and the EAC Customs Management (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
The Summit will further consider the implementation status of the EAC Customs Union and Common Market Protocols in addition to the current financial status of the Community.