The DRC officially signed Friday, April 8 its entry into the East African community. The country had asked to join in 2019. This morning in Nairobi, Felix Tshisekedi ratified his country’s membership of the regional organization. An official ceremony which took place in the presence of the Kenyan Head of State, Uhuru Kenyatta, current president of the organization, as well as his Ugandan and Rwandan counterparts, Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame. The opportunity for the Heads of State present to recall the ambitions of the community: to have a common market and free movement of goods and people, but also to encourage security in the region.
With our correspondent in Nairobi, Albane Thirouard
Access to the West African coast, an economy of 90 million people and a country rich in resources. DRC brings new opportunities for the East African Community (EAC)
Speaking first, Uhuru Kenyatta did not hide his ambition: ” We now have a community larger in size than Europe, with almost the same population, abundant resources, a trained workforce… We share the same language, the same cultures… the only things that divided us were borders inherited from the colonial era. There is no reason, if we work together, that we are not stronger and more prosperous economically than Europe or any other regional organization. »
Felix Tshisekedi also welcomed these economic opportunities. While emphasizing the need for stability in the region: “ By joining the community, the Congolese people not only want to be satisfied with the benefits of intra-community trade, but they aspire first and foremost to maintain relations based on peace and security for all. In this vein, the Congolese people renew their legendary commitment to a policy of good neighborliness. It expects from other peoples the same commitment to peace and security for all, without which it becomes unlikely to achieve the goals and objectives of the community. »
The DRC now has six months to put in place the formalities relating to its membership.
Kenya and the DRC also signed on Friday a bilateral cooperation agreement in the areas of agriculture, livestock and fisheries.
What will be the economic implications for Member States and in particular for the DRC?
This integration represents on the economic point, a significant contribution in terms of trade according to Onesphore Sematumba, Africa Great Lakes specialist at the International Crisis Group. ” Undoubtedly, it is the Democratic Republic of Congo which will lose, quite simply because it will play in a category which is not its own. The DRC has an essentially primary economy, based on mining resources, agricultural resources… its trade is essentially informal, the banking system is still in its infancy, so it is this country that presents itself with all its weaknesses in the face of economies that are still from the English-speaking world, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, which have great industrial dynamism… “, explains Onesphore Sematumba.
Trade in the regions of Kivu, Ituri and even part of Katanga is resolutely turned towards the East and joining this organization will facilitate many things…
The analysis of Onesphore Sematumba, specialist in Africa of the Great Lakes at the International Crisis Group