DR Congo admitted to East African Community

Following the admission, the Democratic Republic of Congo becomes the regional bloc’s seventh member.

As he addressed the EAC Heads of State Summit, President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is the chairperson of the Summit, said the admission of the DRC to the EAC will enable the community to achieve much needed development.

“Today, 29th, is a historic day in the history of the EAC as we admit the DRC into the EAC. We have already considered and agreed in our closed session and the Summit has taken the decision to admit the DRC into the EAC,” said President Kenyatta.

“The admission of the DRC into DRC is historic not only for our countries but our continent at large.”

“For people who are looking for prosperity, this is a very important issue. We welcome the DRC into the EAC,” said President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.

“We now need to work on peace in the Eastern Congo, because that part of the region has been having problems for some time.”

President Paul Kagame also congratulated DRC for the admission.

“I congratulate our brothers and sisters from the DRC and welcome them into the EAC. I urge all the institutions of the EAC to accelerate the admission of the DRC processes in accordance with the Treaty and our rules of admission,” he said.

“It is our expectation that the DRC will ratify the admission on time to allow the community to benefit from the integration,” said Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

The Vice President of Burundi, Bagombanza has also highlighted that ‘coming together will benefit the community to achieve its integration agenda’.

The summit to admit the DRC was attended by President Samia Suluhu Hasan (Tanzania), President Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), President Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Vice President Prosper Bagombanza (Burundi), Minister in the Office of the President Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin (South Sudan), and the DRC President Felix Tshisekedi.

Its admission will double the EAC’s land size to 4.7 million square kilometres from the current 2.4 million square kilometres.

Its population will rise to 275 million from 183 million, which is the current total population of the existing six partner states.

Among others, the development will make EAC one of the largest trading blocs in Africa, opening a corridor from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic coast.