The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of six countries in the African Great Lakes region in eastern Africa: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, is the EAC's chairman. The organisation was founded in 1967, collapsed in 1977, and was revived on 7 July 2000.[6] In 2008, after negotiations with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the EAC agreed to an expanded free trade area including the member states of all three organizations. The EAC is an integral part of the African Economic Community. The capital of the EAC is Arusha, while the most populous city is Dar es Salaam.

The EAC is a potential precursor to the establishment of the East African Federation, a proposed federation of its members into a single sovereign state.[7] In 2010, the EAC launched its own common market for goods, labour, and capital within the region, with the goal of creating a common currency and eventually a full political federation.[8] In 2013, a protocol was signed outlining their plans for launching a monetary union within 10 years.[9] In September 2018 a committee was formed to begin the process of drafting a regional constitution.[10]