The East African region risks being blacklisted by the rest of the world as insecure because of drug trafficking and the piracy menace off the Somali coast.

The two problems threatened to destabilize the region and make nonsense of the gains that the Common Market agreement entered on July 1 promises on the member states’ economies, Secretary-General Juma Mwapachu said.

He said the region need to be protected from the sea route against piracy, otherwise it will be in trouble because the menace is bound to affect port operations and trade despite the investments made infrastructure development and cargo handling equipment at the ports.