Mogadishu — The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud returned to Mogadishu after witnessing the joining of the country to the East African Community [EAC].

Hassan Sheikh has congratulated the Somali people on the historic success and said that the EAC membership gives opportunities as the country has vast untapped resources.

"The Somali people should be prepared to deal and share something with a community of 300 million people from the other 7 countries of the East African community," he added.

The EAC market starts from the Atlantic Ocean and to the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

President Hassan Sheikh also pointed out that Somalia will join other important markets, and he finally urged the Somali people to compete with their counterparts in the region.

Despite progress in economic integration, the EAC has struggled to overcome barriers to commerce such as red tape, political instability, poor infrastructure and trade disputes.

With about 17 million, Somalia, had sought to join the EAC for years, but its chronic instability made some East African countries reluctant to grant it membership, analysts say.

Somalia applied for membership in the EAC in March 2012. And the second time was in 2019 and the third was last year. It has been a long but successful journey to join the bloc.

The country has the longest coastline in Africa, about 3,333Kms and will add its EAC membership more value to the East African Community, according to the economists.