on 22 July 2022, the EAC Heads of State, noted that the verification process for Somalia to join the community needs to be completed expeditiously. Somalia adds to the EAC, a 3,333 km coastline, a population of about 16 million people, entrepreneurial capital and culture, fisheries, livestock, energy and natural resources. As members of the Community, the country would receive support to deal with internal security matters. Sudan The Sudan applied to join the EAC in 2011, but its membership is strongly opposed by Tanzania and Uganda. They contended that because of the Sudan's lack of a direct border with the EAC at the time, its allegedly discriminatory actions toward black Africans, its record of human rights violations, and its history of hostilities with both South Sudan and Uganda, it was ineligible to join. The Sudan's application was rejected by the EAC in December 2011. Zambia In 2010, Tanzanian officials expressed interest in inviting Zambia to join the EAC. In the 1960s Zambia had applied to join the EAC. During a state visit to Kenya on 15 June 2022, President Hichilema of Zambia mentioned to the EAC Chairman President Kenyatta, that Zambia is interested in joining an East African Consortium for negotiating trade agreements in oil and agricultural sectors. Politics It has been argued, however, that the commonalities go far deeper. Many of the national elites old enough to remember the former EAC often share memories and a sharp sense of loss at its eventual dissolution. More cynically, others have argued that this historical ambition provides politicians with the ability to present themselves as statesmen and representatives of a greater regional interest. Furthermore, EAC institutions bring significant new powers to dispose and depose to those who serve in them. Some have questioned the extent to which the visions of a political union are shared outside the elite and the relatively elderly, arguing that the youthful mass of the population is not well informed about the process in any of the countries. Others have pointed to an enhanced sense of East African identity developing from modern communications. For these, the shared vision for a politically united East Africa is commendable and a potential driver for change. Commitment to the formal EAC idea is relatively narrow, in both social and generational terms, and thus many have questioned the timetable for the project. Fast-tracking political union was first discussed in 2004 and enjoyed