Arusha - The East African Community would be looking to Britain for support as it embarks on the process of establishing a monetary union, it was said yesterday.

The EAC secretary general, Ambassador Juma Mwapachu, said this when he received credentials from the UK High Commissioner to Tanzania, Ms Diane Corner, who is now accredited to the regional organisation.

He commended the UK for its support to regional integration efforts in East Africa dating back to the 1960s. He said this has made the EAC one of the most successful regional economic communities in Africa.

"We at the EAC would be looking upto Britain for support as we embark on the next stage of our integration agenda, the monetary union," Ambassador Mwapachu said.

A preparatory meeting of the task force to negotiate the protocol for the establishment of the East African Monetary Union started in Arusha on Monday.

"Full negotiations are expected to start in March this year," the EAC boss said, noting that the monetary union was necessary for an effective common market to operate.

He said the accreditation of the UK envoy to Tanzania to the EAC marked yet another milestone in Britain's links with the regional bloc.

Agencies