DRC has officially become the seventh country of the East African community (EAC) after completing the four-year formal process of joining the community.
Peter Mathiuki, the Secretary-General of the EAC congratulated the DRC move by saying “Today is a very significant day for the Community and for the DRC. It marks the completion of the process and procedures toward DRC becoming a full member of the East African Community. »
Mathiuki also hailed the DRC government and its people for speedily concluding the internal and constitutional process to ratify the Treaty of Accession and depositing the instrument of Ratification well ahead of the schedule.
“The summit had envisaged that this would be done by 29th September, 2022,” Mathiuki said.
He further added; “By depositing the instruments of ratification, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) now has full rights and privileges to participate in EAC’s programs and activities and affirms to meet the obligations of the EAC,”
DRC requested to join the Community back in June 2019; however, the consideration of its request was postponed due to a lack of quorum at the Heads of State Summit that gathered on February 25, 2020.
Dr. Mathiuki disclosed that the Secretariat had developed a proposed roadmap for the integration of the DRC into the Community, adding that this would be shared and concluded with the participation and input of DRC.
The wealthiest country in terms of resources brings an estimate of untapped raw materials worth$24 trillion and a population of 95 million people in the block according to a world population review website.
With the increase of the EAC’s bigger number of population, the market for regional is expected to increase as well as exportation.
In recently published UN report indicates that half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries of DRC-Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines.
