MOGADISHU, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The East African Community trade bloc admitted Somalia as its eighth member on Friday, a move Somali authorities and businesses hope will boost the country's war-ravaged economy.
"Somalia officially joins the East African Community, reinforcing ties and opening new doors for progress and partnership," Daud Aweis, Somalia's minister for information, culture and tourism said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
In turn the bloc's large population and existing customs union and common market are a draw for investors that Somalia can now tap into.
Somali businesses said the country's vibrant private sector, which has overcome long odds to stay afloat, would bring a fresh injection of risk-tolerant entrepreneurs into the trade bloc and boost exchanges across the large Somali Diaspora.
"It will be simpler for the large Somali Diaspora living across East Africa to access financial services and products," said Shuayb Haji Nur Mohamed, managing director of Salaam Somali Bank, one of Somalia's major banks.
Persons:
Daud Aweis, al, Shuayb Haji Nur Mohamed, Hereward Holland, Elias Biryabarema, William Maclean
Organizations:
East African Community, EAC, Democratic, East African, Salaam Somali Bank, Thomson
Locations:
MOGADISHU, Somalia, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Al Qaeda, Shabaab, Mogadishu, al Shabaab, Somali, East Africa