Ugandan president, Kenyan deputy president urge formation of political union of EAC — Kenya’s Deputy President Dr. William Ruto gives a speech when he attended a fundraiser for a church in Nyamira, western Kenya on October 15, 2020. – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto are at loggerheads and although they have not directly sparred in public, their words and deeds indicate a deep chasm between erstwhile bosom buddies who ascended to power in 2013 with boisterous glee, pomp and glamour. (Photo by BRIAN ONGORO / AFP) (Photo by BRIAN ONGORO/AFP via Getty Images)

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and visiting Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto on Tuesday called for forming the East African Federation, a proposed political union of the East African Community (EAC).

According to a statement issued by the State House Uganda, during a groundbreaking ceremony of a biotech manufacturing facility held in the central Ugandan district of Wakiso, Museveni said African countries need to realize that it is through integration that they can ensure the prosperity of their peoples.

“I am very glad that people are waking up and talking about the East African Federation. This will become a center of gravity,” Museveni said.

“We need the center of gravity … People in this continent can trade better, do business better and connect better,” said Ruto, who also attended the ceremony.