Burundi to attend EAC summit after postponement: spokesman

(Xinhua) — Burundi will attend a forthcoming summit of heads of state of the six-member East African Community (EAC) due on Dec. 27 in Tanzania’s Arusha, after it was postpooned due to Burundi’s absence, Burundian president spokesperson Jean Claude Karerwa said Saturday.

Burundi had enough time to prepare for the 20th summit of EAC heads of state, said Karerwa during a live radio program of spokespersons from Burundi’s senior institutions.

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza may attend the summit or designate a senior government official to represent him, he said.

The summit originally scheduled to start on Nov. 30 in Arusha was postponed due to a lack of quorum after the absence of representatives from Burundi.

Nkurunziza had requested more time for preparing the summit in a letter to Ugandan President and EAC chairperson Yoweri Museveni.

He said the invitation letter to the summit dated on Oct. 30 reached his office on Nov. 21, while the rules of procedures of EAC heads of state summit provide that an ordinary summit gives member states at least four weeks for preparation.