BUJUMBURA, June 11 (ABP) – The Vice President of the Republic of Burundi Prosper Bazombanza returned on Monday, June 9, 2025 from the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, where he had represented the Burundian Head of State, Evariste Ndayishimiye, at the 26th ordinary summit of heads of state and governments, members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
Upon his arrival at Melchior Ndadaye international airport, Vice-President Bazombanza told the press that during the Summit, which took place on June 7 in Malabo, various topics were addressed, including an assessment of the activities carried out under the mandate of the current ECCAS chairman, Equatorial Guinea’s president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo; strict adherence to the start and end dates of ECCAS governing bodies’ mandates; and the current status of membership fee payments.
In this context, Mr. Bazombanza noted that starting at the end of August 2025, Burundi will assume the presidency of ECCAS for a five-year term. He mentioned that the name of the future chairman of the ECCAS commission will be sent via diplomatic channels to the outgoing commission.
According to the Vice-President of Burundi, the second point that drew participants’ attention at the Summit was the clearance of arrears in membership contributions. He emphasized that ECCAS had set the goal of completing this clearance process by December 31, 2025, in order to begin the year 2026 with the implementation of a special contribution known as the “Community Integration Contribution (CCI),” which could pave the way for the development of a unified law for all member states.