On 30 November 2025, the East African Community (EAC) Ambassadors in Japan gathered in Tokyo to commemorate EAC Day, an event celebrating the region’s growing integration and cooperation. Ambassador-Designate, H.E. Anderson Mutatembwa joined fellow envoys from Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and other members of the African Diplomatic Corps, together with senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

The event opened with reflections from the Ambassador of Rwanda, who highlighted the EAC’s evolution over the past 25 years into a dynamic regional bloc committed to deeper integration and economic transformation. She emphasized Rwanda’s progress in digital governance, investment facilitation, and expanding the country’s role in regional markets, while acknowledging Japan’s long-standing support in infrastructure, capacity-building, and private-sector development.

The Ambassador of South Sudan underscored notable milestones achieved during her country’s leadership of the EAC, including the admission of Somalia as the 8th member state and continued peace and cooperation initiatives across the region. She encouraged Japanese investors to explore opportunities in infrastructure, mining, agriculture, and tourism, while extending congratulations to Ambassador-Designate Mutatembwa.

Uganda’s Ambassador, serving as the Dean of EAC Ambassadors, reiterated the four pillars guiding EAC cooperation and highlighted Uganda’s commitment to Pan-Africanism under President Museveni. He commended JICA and JETRO for their critical role in technology transfer and investment promotion, urging deeper Japanese engagement in East African industries and value-added products.

On his part, Ambassador-Designate Mutatembwa expressed Tanzania’s gratitude for Japan’s continued support to the region and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to strengthening cooperation within the EAC and with Japan. He underscored the importance of expanding trade, investment, and development partnerships for the mutual benefit of both sides.

As host and the Current EAC Chair, the Ambassador of Kenya reflected on the journey of the EAC, from its founding to its current membership of more than 300 million citizens. He highlighted Japan’s strategic contribution to regional development and emphasized the importance of enhanced cooperation in infrastructure, innovation, market access, and inter-parliamentary engagement ahead of TICAD 10.

The Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps (ADC) Ambassador of Cameroon, commended the EAC for its progress and reaffirmed Africa’s strong and strategic partnership with Japan.

H.E. Mr. Imafuku TAKAO, Assistant Minister and Director-General for African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, delivered remarks on behalf of the Government of Japan. He congratulated the EAC Ambassadors on the commemoration and reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to supporting peace, stability, and sustainable development across East Africa. He emphasized Japan’s longstanding principles of partnership, built on mutual respect, transparency, and shared prosperity, and highlighted the importance of the EAC as a key regional bloc in Africa’s economic transformation. H.E. Imafuku also reaffirmed Japan’s readiness to deepen collaboration in areas such as connectivity, human resource development, agriculture, digital innovation, and private-sector partnership in the lead-up to TICAD 10. He praised the EAC’s efforts toward regional integration and expressed confidence that Japan–EAC cooperation would continue to grow.

The ceremony concluded with expressions of gratitude to all attendees for their solidarity and commitment to strengthening the EAC –Japan partnership.