DR Congo formally joins EAC after signing treaty of accession

NAIROBI, Kenya April 9-The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Friday formally joined the East African Community (EAC) after the signing of the Treaty of the Accession of the DRC into the EAC in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the EAC said in a statement.

The statement issued by the EAC headquarters in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha said the EAC chairperson, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, signed the Treaty of Accession with DRC President Felix Tshisekedi.

Also present at the signing ceremony were Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, said the statement.

The statement said DRC now has up to Sept. 29, 2022 to undertake internal and constitutional processes to ratify the Treaty and deposit the instruments of ratification with the EAC secretary general.

“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.