DR Congo officially becomes 7th full member of East African Community

Arusha, Tanzania | Xinhua | The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday officially became the seventh full member of the East African Community (EAC).

The EAC said in its official tweet that the DRC became a full member of the regional bloc after it deposited instruments of ratification on the accession of the treaty for the establishment of the EAC.

📍EAC SG @pmathuki receives the Instrument of Ratification of the Treaty of Accession by the DRC to the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC from DRC’s Vice Prime Minister & Minister for Foreign Affairs,Hon.Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen’ Apala.@Presidence_RDC @RDC_Minafet pic.twitter.com/AkTyxNngfz

— East African Community (@jumuiya) July 11, 2022

In December 2021, the 18th extra-ordinary summit of the EAC heads of state directed the EAC Council of Ministers to start and conclude negotiations on the accession of the treaty with the DRC for full admission to the bloc. The EAC leaders asked the Council of Ministers to conclude negotiations with the DRC after they had reviewed the Council of Ministers’ report on the verification mission regarding the admission of the DRC to join the EAC.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said the DRC’s admission to the regional bloc will be a new milestone in the integration. She reiterated Tanzania’s commitment to working closely with all EAC member states toward taking the integration to higher levels.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda welcomed the progress made in admitting the DRC to the regional economic bloc.

“We look forward to the prompt conclusion of the remaining admission procedures,” he said.

The EAC groups Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and the DRC.