“The Democratic Republic of the Congo formally joins EAC after signing of the Treaty of Accession to the Community”
Nairobi – 08–4-2022- Journalingual
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 8th April, 2022: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has formally joined the East African Community (EAC) after the signing of the Treaty of the Accession of the DRC into the EAC in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Chairperson of the Summit of EAC Heads of State, H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta, signed the Treaty of Accession with the President of DRC, H.E. Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, at State House, Nairobi.
Also present at the ceremony were Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.
DRC now has up to 29th September, 2022 to undertake internal and constitutional processes to ratify the Treaty and deposit the instruments of ratification with the Secretary General.
President Kenyatta said that the signing of the Treaty of Accession marks the formal entry of DRC into the EAC after satisfying all the conditions under Articles 3 and 4 of the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC.
“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 that the region has already began realising 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 thereby enabling East Africans to harness the comparative strength of each member state for the benefit of all and to confront and solve problems together.
“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,” said the Chairperson of the Summit.
“We welcome DRC to the Customs Union and Common Market which are the signature pillars of our Community and the foundation upon which our social, political, trade, investment and economic interests stand,” added President Kenyatta. To read the whole story please visit East African Community (eac.int)