DR Congo formally joins East African Community, raising profile of the bloc. DRC becomes the seventh member of the East African community that comprises Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi.
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi signed the Treaty of Accession to the East African Community (EAC), officially making his country part of the trading bloc that now becomes a 300-million people market.
Tshisekedi, who is on a two-day visit to Kenya, signed the treaty in Nairobi, in a ceremony witnessed by his host President Uhuru Kenyatta, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame.
DRC becomes the seventh member of the East African community that comprises Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi.
Kenyatta, who is also the chairman of the EAC Heads of State Summit, welcomed the DRC into the bloc, noting the entry of the expansive country will grow the region’s market.
“With the accession of the DRC, our community’s population now stands at about 300 million and our combined gross domestic product will be 28.8 trillion shillings (about 250 billion U.S. dollars),” President Kenyatta said.
President Tshisekedi said the admission of his county into the EAC was a fulfillment of dreams held by their ancestors more than 60 years ago, adding that it marked a decisive shift in the DRC’s foreign and economic policy.
“DR Congo will actively play its role within the community so that it can become stronger and more prosperous,” President Tshisekedi said.
On the other hand, President Kagame asked EAC leaders to cement the regional integration dream for the benefit of the people.
“We now have to get down to do the work. I am with you all the way to achieve the objective of deeper and wider integration of our community,” President Kagame said.
President Museveni underscored the importance of the integration, noting it will accelerate prosperity through the provision of a broader market for goods and improve regional strategic security.
The Ugandan leader added that the integration of African countries is easier because they share common social infrastructure, including language.
Cavince Adhere, an international relations scholar, said DRC’s admission to the EAC raises the profile of the regional economic bloc.
“The DRC’s admission into the EAC, one of the most dynamic regional economic blocs in the continent, provides the country with a pathway to hoist its economic, social and political viability,” he said, adding that despite its heavy natural resources, DRC had been slowed down by conflict and political instability that had dimmed its state capacity to effectively deliver the much needed public goods to the citizens.
According to him, DRC’s accession to the EAC presents a number of opportunities for the other member states.
“With a population of 86 million people, and Swahili as a lingua franca of the regional economic bloc, the DRC presents a formidable market for manufactured and agricultural products from other EAC member states besides robust people-to-people exchanges,” he said.
In appreciating the potential of DRC in catalyzing Africa’s economic transformation, Kenya has over the decades played constructive roles in fostering the country’s internal stability and prosperity.
Nairobi, for instance, hosted the signing of a peace deal between the DRC government and the M23 rebel leaders in 2013.
Kenya has also been the most important gateway to the international waters with Kinshasa which imports much of its cargo from the Asian markets through Kenya’s Mombasa port. The same port has enabled DRC to ship out its minerals, timber and other products.
“For Kenya, therefore, the admission of the DRC in the East African Community will not only give more meaning and utility to regional connectivity projects such as the Lamu Port and Lamu-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor, but also expand bargaining capability of the regional economic bloc on market basis,” he said.
DRC will undertake internal and constitutional processes to ratify the Treaty and deposit the instruments of ratification with the EAC secretary general.
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“To get to this point, it has taken strong leadership, commitment to the ideals of the EAC integration agenda and a clear understanding of the shared benefits that come with working together,” said President Kenyatta.
President Kenyatta said the region has already begun realizing the promise of the EAC, including the free movement of people, goods and services across the Community that has boosted trade and strengthened people-to-people ties.
“The accession of DRC as a member state of EAC will even more elevate these gains and strengthen our economic muscles and competitiveness in the continent and globally,” he said.
DRC becomes the seventh member of the EAC, joining Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.