DRC officially admitted to East African Community
The Democratic Republic of Congo through President Felix Tshisekedi has signed the Treaty of Accession to the East African Community making it the newest member of the community.
Present to witness the historic entry of the D.R.C were Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni.
The event was conducted in Kenya on Friday 8 April and was presided over by the head of the summit, President Uhuru Kenyatta.
With DRC's entry, the EAC now has seven members including Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Her admission was approved at the 19th Extraordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State conducted virtually before she was officially admitted to the EAC on March 29, 2022.
President Kenyatta welcomed DRC’s admission terming it momentous.
“Admission of the DRC marks a momentous occasion in the region’s integration history!” Kenyatta said.
Rwanda’s Paul Kagame pledged support to DRC in its quest to integrate with the rest of the countries in the region. “Rwanda supports the admission of the DRC into the region and stands ready to play its part in supporting the integration of the DRC into the EAC,” Kagame said.
DRC’s entry into the EAC bloc comes at a time a growing list of Kenyan companies is looking for investment opportunities in the DRC.
With a surface area equivalent to that of Western Europe, the DRC is the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, offering huge untapped opportunities.
The World Bank says that with 80 million hectares of arable land and over 1,100 listed minerals and precious metals, DRC has the potential to become one of the richest economies on the continent and a driver of African growth, if it can overcome its political instability and improve governance.
