On the 29th March 2022 EAC meeting, the Democratic Republic of Congo was officially initiated into the East African community. The historical step has been attained in the extraordinary meeting of the Heads of State.
The joining of the DR Congo of summed to 7 members of the community. After South Sudan also secure her membership in 2016, Rwanda and Burundi joined in 2007, and Tanzania joined in 2000 and Uganda and Kenya being the pioneers revived on 14th March 1996.
The East African Community Block is now broadening with reaches in market particularly and cooperation in a number of consideration. And DR Congo has gotten free access straight to the Indian Ocean which is either accessed through Kenya or Tanzania.
Congo has become the third French speaking country to join the block plus Rwanda and Burundi, yet the first members are English speaking. As well South Sudan is an English speaking country.
As he was addressing the Community Heads of States, Uhuru Kenyatta the Kenyan president who also doubles as the chairman of the community, said, the joining of Democratic Republic of Congo to the East African Community will enable the community to achieve needed development based on the economies of large scale.
“Today, the 29th, is a historic day in the history of the East African Community as we admit the Democratic Republic of Congo into the block,” Kenyatta asserted.
He added, the admission of the DRC into the community is not only historic for our countries but for the African continent at large.
The Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, affirmed that for people looking for prosperity, this is a very important issue to welcome the DRC into the EAC block.
Museveni said, we now need to work on peace in the Eastern Congo, because the region has had problems for sometimes.
It’s also on record as Museveni was addressing the Heads of State on a virtual summit, gun fires were being exchanged between the joined army of Uganda and Conog against the M23 rebels and an influx of thousands of Congolese refugees was witnessed at the Buganana border of DRC and Uganda.
Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan said their expectation that the Democratic Republic of Congo will ratify the admission on time to allow the community to benefit from the integration while Burundi Vice President Prosper Bagombanza said that coming together will benefit the community to achieve its integration agenda.
South Sudan’s Minister in the Office of the President Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin who represented President Salva Kiirr, while Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi also addressed the meeting.
The East African community has ascertained a certain number of achievements among states. The use of a single tourist Visa which allows entry of three of the member countries of Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda and it’s worked on to see that all members to embrace the move to aid in tourism promotion among member states.
To all member states, for their citizens don’t need visa to cross borders, only use their national identification cards and passports and soon the community is working on making a single block passport.
Congo applied for its membership in 2019, with hopes of improving trade and political ties with its East African members. And the country has officially been welcomed to the block on 29th March Tuesday 2022.
