The roots of integration
A long history of working together
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have enjoyed a long history of co-operation under successive regional integration arrangements — beginning with the Customs Union between Kenya and Uganda in 1917, which the then Tanganyika later joined in 1927.
Following the dissolution of the former East African Community in 1977, the Member States negotiated a Mediation Agreement for the Division of Assets and Liabilities, signed in 1984. As one of its provisions, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda agreed to explore areas of future co-operation and make concrete arrangements for it.
Subsequent meetings of the three Heads of State led to the signing of the Agreement for the Establishment of the Permanent Tripartite Commission for East African Co-operation on 30 November 1993 — and ultimately to the Treaty that brought today's Community into being.