Somalia plans to re-apply to join the six-member East African Community (EAC) bloc in 2017, the country's ambassador said Sunday.

Somali Ambassador to Kenya Gamal Hassan told journalists in Nairobi that its application in 2016 was postponed as it had not met all the requirements of admission.

"Hopefully our application to join the EAC will receive a positive response during the EAC summit in 2017," Hassan said during the Eastleigh Business Summit, which brought together business people from the Somali business community in Kenya.

EAC partner states include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan.

Hassan said Somalia's membership will help boost trade between Somalia and its EAC neighbors. "It will also help provide employment opportunities for youth in the region," he added.

The envoy also said his country was seeking to re-establish direct flights between Kenya's capital of Nairobi and Somalia's capital of Mogadishu.

Currently, flights have to stop over in Kenya's northeast city of Wajir.

Hassan also noted that the voluntary repatriation of Somalia refugees who are based in Kenya is proceeding smoothly. "Every month, we are recording thousands of refugees who are going back home," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2016)