Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed the treaty granting the country full membership to the bloc on Friday, in a ceremony presided by current EAC chair, South Sudan President Salva Kiir, in Uganda.

The country was admitted into the EAC on 24 November, becoming the bloc's eighth member after Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda.

President Mohamud on Friday said that the formalisation of Somalia's integration into the bloc was a "beacon of hope for a future filled with possibilities" and that his country looked forward to contributing to the progress of the region.