On July 13, 2025, the Head of Mission H.E. Amb. George M. ORINA, MBS, headed the Kenyan Delegation during the 7th Mid-Year Conference Meeting (MYCM) of the African Union (AU) in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

The MYCM is the principal forum for the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to align their work and coordinate the implementation of the Continental Integration Agenda, replacing the June/July Summits. It is a meeting between the Bureau of the AU Assembly and RECs, with the participation of the Chairpersons of RECs, the AU Commission and Regional Mechanisms (RMs.)

His Excellency the President’s statement on the Status of Regional Integration in the EAC, where the Head of Mission gave a progress report on the Community’s integrations processes in the past one year, with key reported milestones in the Custom Union, Common Market, Monetary Policy and Political Federation of the Community. Of note was the considerable strides that the EAC has made in the scale of intra-Community trade and trade with the rest of the continent. This has been majorly due to the progressive removal of Non-Tariff Barriers, as well as addressing regulatory and procedural obstacles that previously hindered cross-border trade.

Likewise, substantial headway has been made in pacifying the security situation in eastern DRC through the decision of the Joint Summit of the EAC and SADC to merge the Nairobi and Luanda Processes, as well as the deployment of additional Facilitators drawn from the two RECs.

Significantly, the MYCM welcomed and adopted the report of His Excellency Dr. William Samoei RUTO, President of the Republic of Kenya and as the Chairperson of the EAC.