The following communiqué was adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the EAC in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 20 May 2017:

1. The East African Community Heads of State, their Excellencies President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of the Republic of Uganda and chairperson of the Summit, President Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli of the United Republic of Tanzania, Deputy President William Ruto of the Republic of Kenya, 1st Vice President His Excellency Gaston Sindimwo of the Republic of Burundi, Hon. Francois Kanimba, Minister of Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs representing His Excellency President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda, and Hon. Aggrey Tisa Sabuni, Economic Advisor to the President representing His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan held the 18th Ordinary Summit meeting of the East African Community Heads of State on 20th May, 2017 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
    
2. The Heads of State commended the United Republic of Tanzania for chairing the affairs of the community for the past two years and welcomed the new chairperson, His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of the Republic of Uganda.
    
3. The Heads of State and Government met in a warm and cordial atmosphere.
    
4. The Heads of State received the annual progress report of the council of ministers for the period 1st December 2015 to 18th May 2017, and directed the council to resolve the outstanding issues and report progress to the 19th Summit.
    
5. The Heads of State considered a report on the implementation of previous decisions of the Summit and noted the progress. The Summit directed partner states and the secretariat to implement the outstanding decisions and the partner states to deposit with the secretary general instruments of ratification of outstanding protocols by 30th November 2017.
    
6. The Heads of State noted with concern the declining intra-EAC trade and directed the council to resolve the long-outstanding non-tariff barriers and report to the 19th Summit.
    
7. The Heads of State noted that the remaining partner states that have not signed the EU-EAC economic partnership agreement (EPA) are not in a position to do so pending clarification of issues they have identified in the agreement. It was however agreed that due to this action Kenya should not be disadvantaged since she has already signed the agreement. In view of this decision, the President of the Republic of Uganda as the new chair of the Summit, was mandated within one month to reach out to the European Union (EU) to communicate the EAC circumstances. In the event that an acceptable way forward is not reached with the EU within the next six months, the chairperson was authorised to explore the use of variable geometry in implementation of the EPA by EAC partner states working with the council of ministers. The Summit also agreed that the EU sanctions on Burundi should be discussed alongside the EPA discussions.
    
8. The Heads of State noted the progress on the issue of sustainable financing mechanism for the East African Community and directed the ministers of finance to meet and finalize work on the modalities required to establish a sustainable financing mechanism for the community and report to the 19th Summit.
    
9. The Heads of State deliberated on the EAC political federation and noted the council’s recommendations. The Heads of State adopted the political confederation as a transitional model of the East African Political Federation and directed the council to constitute a team of constitutional experts to draft the constitution for the political confederation and report to the 19th Summit.
    
10. The Summit appointed Eng. Stephen Daudi Malekela Mlote from the United Republic of Tanzania as deputy secretary general of the East African Community for a three year term with effect from 20th May 2017.
     
11. The Heads of State commended Dr. Enos S. Bukuku, the outgoing deputy secretary general and wished him well in his future endeavours.
     
12. The Heads of State, pursuant to Article 24 (2) of the treaty for the establishment of the East African Community, appointed justice Dr. Charles Oyo Nyawello, from the Republic of South Sudan as Judge to the First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice and presided over his swearing in ceremony.
     
13. The Heads of State considered a report on the roadmap for the accelerated integration of the Republic of South Sudan into the EAC and noted the steady progress of the integration of the Republic of South Sudan into the Community.
     
14. The Heads of State received the progress report on the EAC institutional review and noted that phase one of the institutional review was being implemented and directed the council to expedite its full implementation and report to the 19th Summit.
     
15. The Heads of State received a report on the verification for the admission of the Republic of Somalia into the EAC. The Summit directed the council to follow-up on the matter and report to the 19th Summit.
     
16. The Heads of State received a progress report on the modalities for promotion of motor vehicle assembly in the region aimed at reducing the importation of used motor vehicles from outside the community and directed the council to finalize the matter and report to the 19th Summit.
     
17. The Heads of State received a progress report on 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 used textile and footwear and directed the council to finalize the matter and report to the 19th Summit.
     
18. The Heads of State assented to the East African Community Customs Management (Amendment) Bill 2016, the East African Community Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2016, and the EAC Appropriation Bill 2016.
     
19. The Heads of State presented awards to the winners of the EAC Students Essay Competition, 2016 and commended the students for their interest in the integration agenda.
     
20. The Heads of State declared the EAC as a common higher education area in order to harmonize and enhance the quality of education in the region. The Heads of State directed the council to operationalize the transformation.
     
21. The Heads of State received a progress report from H.E. Benjamin William Mkapa, the facilitator of the inter-Burundi dialogue and thanked him for his commitment to the dialogue. The Summit fully endorsed the assessment and adopted the report.
     
22. The Heads of State received an update and clarifications from the 1st Vice President of the Republic of Burundi on the political situation in the Republic of Burundi and the inter-Burundi dialogue.
     
23. Their Excellencies President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of the Republic of Uganda, Deputy President William Ruto of the Republic of Kenya, 1st Vice President His Excellency Gaston Sindimwo of the Republic of Burundi, Hon. Francois Kanimba, Minister of Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs of the Republic of Rwanda, and Hon. Aggrey Tisa Sabuni, Economic Advisor to the President of the Republic of South Sudan thanked their host, His Excellency President Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli of the United Republic of Tanzania, for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to them and their respective delegations during their stay in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.