IGAD Heads of State at the 14th Summit of the regional bloc in Djibouti. June 12, 2023. | Photo: PPU/Facebook

The Intergovernmental Authority for Development on Monday adopted a one-year-rotational chairmanship of the bloc to be implemented in alphabetical order.

According to the new treaty, the agency shall fully operate under a set of rules like other regional economic communities.

The chairmanship shall see member states assume office in alphabetical order, on a one-year rotational basis, reports The Star newspaper in Kenya.

The rotation will be done every June 1 at the assembly summit.

The treaty gives power and process to impose sanctions and established that every policy organ of IGAD has a defined number of meetings per calendar year.

This includes quarterly, biannually, and annually as applicable.

Further, the treaty mandates the council the power to resolve disputes through negotiation.

The IGAD treaty will enter into force after at least two-thirds of the members have signed and ratified the documents.

The 14th assembly marked the first IGAD summit since 2019.