The Democratic Republic of Congo has been granted the green light by the Council of Ministers to join the East African Community (EAC), local media reported Wednesday quoting an authoritative source.
The EAC Council of Ministers, chaired by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary in charge of EAC Affairs and Regional Development Adan Mohamed, arrived at the decision during their 44th Extra-Ordinary Meeting held on November 22, 2021 in Arusha, Tanzania.
“The Summit of EAC Heads of State at their 21st Ordinary Meeting held on 27th February, 2021, directed the EAC Council of Ministers to expeditiously undertake a verification exercise in accordance with the EAC Criteria for Admission of Foreign States,” read the statement by the Council of Ministers.
An EAC verification team undertook the verification exercise in DRC’s capital Kinshasa from June 26 to July 5, 2021 with the objective of establishing the country’s level of conformity in accordance with Article 3 (2) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC.
“DRC shares borders with five of the EAC Partner States, namely Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan,” says the report tabled by the Council of Ministers.
CU/abj/APA