After Joining the EAC, Somalia could experience increased influence in the region in terms of trade, politics and diplomacy, Kenyan Professor Macharia Munene told Sputnik Africa.
Professor Munene highlights potential political gains for Mogadishu within the EAC, including a reduced likelihood of recognizing the self-proclaimed breakaway republic of Somaliland in the northern part of the country.
"[EAC membership] means Somali acceptability and lessening of the possibility of Somaliland getting recognition," Munene suggested.
On Friday, Somalia officially became the eighth member of the EAC, a significant development for a country that has struggled with territorial control since the 1990s. Since the mid-2000s, Somalia has been grappling with the armed insurgency of the al-Shabaab* terrorist group, which has also affected neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia.
Professor Munene anticipates positive outcomes for the bloc, such as an expanded EAC market space and enhanced regional security.
However, he also notes potential challenges, suggesting that Somalia's admission could make the EAC "less cohesive" due to conflicting diversity and differing interests among its members. Additionally, the expert predicts an increase in dependency as some EAC members may fail to meet their commitments.
Established in 1999 by the leaders of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, the EAC has seen subsequent expansions with Burundi and Rwanda joining in 2007, South Sudan in 2016, and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2022.
Headquartered in the Tanzanian town of Arusha, where the bloc's last summit was held, the EAC works to promote trade by eliminating tariffs between member states and established a common market in 2010.
Before Somalia's inclusion, EAC countries had a combined land area of 4.8 million square kilometers (1.8 million square miles) and a combined gross domestic product of $305 billion, according to the bloc's website with total EAC trade amounting to $78.75 billion in 2022, according to the bloc's website.