President Salva Kiir meets EAC SG Peter Mathuki. (PPU).

President Salva Kiir, the chairman of East African Community received briefing from the regional bloc’s secretary general on fast-tracking regional integration and bolstering relations among partner states.

Dr. Peter Mutuku Mathuki jetted to Juba on Monday and met President Kiir – more than two months after the latter took over the mantle of EAC from Burundi’s Évariste Ndayishimiye.

“The Secretary General briefed the chair on a number of issues critical to the progress of the Community in the calendar year 2024 and the intervention on strengthening EAC inter-state relations,” reads part of a statement published by Kiir’s office.

“The deliberation focused on setting targets anchored on the need to foster a predictable and stable security environment that can catalyze the regional integration agenda.”

The statement further said the Chairman noted “with concern” the interstate political and security dynamics in the region that require urgent intervention.

Kiir took over the bloc’s leadership as relations between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda deteriorate with Kinshasa accusing Kigali of supporting the M23 rebel group in east of DRC.

Also in December 2023, DRC recalled its ambassadors from Kenya and Tanzania after a new Congolese rebel alliance was launched in Nairobi.

DRC was later sued at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) for allegedly rejecting regional election observers in the just concluded democratic exercise and its failure to pay its annual subscription membership fees since joining the community.

“The Chairperson (Kiir) identified a number of interventions that will be activated towards addressing interstate relations,” the statement said further.

President Kiir reportedly pledged to assign special envoys to the various capitals to deliver his peace message and engage the leaders of partner states to resolve conflicting issues.

Finally, SG Mathuki said he updated Kiir on the Secretariat’s readiness to fast-track the integration of the Federal Republic of Somalia, which is yet to deposit the instrument of ratification.