The EAC Heads of State in their summit held over the weekend considered the application by DRC to join one of fastest growing Regional Economic Communities and directed the Council of Ministers to fast-track a verification mission.
“The summit considered an application by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to join the East African Community and directed the Council to expeditiously undertake a verification mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo in accordance with the EAC Procedure for Admission of New Members into the EAC and report to the 22nd Summit,” read a communique issued following a virtual meeting held on Saturday.
The consideration and directives offer hope as opposed to what the leaders considered and observed about another application from Somalia.
The Summit under Chairmanship of Rwanda President Paul Kagame noted that the verification exercise for the admission of the Federal Republic of Somalia had not been undertaken.
It ordered the Council to make a follow up. The development comes few days after the East African private sector urged the EAC Heads of States to fasttrack the admission of the DRC into the EAC bloc.
The regional apex body – East African Business Council (EABC), expressed the sector’s yearn after a study conducted by it in collaboration with GIZ Creating Per spectives last year found out that there is a huge benefit in having DRC as the seventh member of EAC.
The study that was on opportunities for trade with the DRC found that the value of goods imported in the country in 2019 stood at 6.6bn US dollars.
However, EAC exports to the DRC in 2018 stood at 855.4m US dollars, representing 11.5 per cent of total DRC imports while China dominated as the top exporter with a 31.2 per cent share.
“DRC offers a large market for EAC Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to tap into. DRC will in turn benefit from the larger EAC Common Market and Common External Tariff Framework,” said EABC CEO, Dr Mathuki.
The summit also appointed Dr Mathuki to be the new EAC Secretary General from April this year. He takes over from Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was handed over instruments of power by outgoing Kagame as Chairman of the EAC Heads of State.
The meeting was attended by President Kagame, Kenyatta, Evarist Ndayishimiye of Burundi, President Salva Kiir of South Sudan, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Vice President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan representing President John Magufuli.
It was DRC President, Mr Felix Tshisekedi who wrote a letter to the EAC, through the then Chairman Kagame, applying to be part of the economic integration of the region.
