In
its narrowest sense East Africa includes the three modern republics of Kenya, Tanzania
and Uganda. All three of them were heirs to the early British colonies and continue
to show a deep British influence. English is one of the official languages of Uganda,
together with Swahili and Luganda, while it is of general daily use in Kenya
and Tanzania, where Swahili is the official language. Under colonial
administration these three states were involved in an agreement for the common
promotion of commercial exchange, a connection that has never entirely ceased
even after the official termination of the agreement. In a wider and more
comprehensive sense East Africa may also include the republics of Burundi,
Rwanda, Malawi and Mozambique. However, the influence of the former Belgian
administration, and the continuing use of French as an official language, have
strengthened the cultural ties between Rwanda and Burundi and francophone
Zaïre, rather than with anglophone Uganda and Tanzania, while the recent history
of Malawi and Mozambique has favoured continuing cultural and ethnic relations with
the neighbouring states of Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa rather than with their
northern East African partners.