The EAC, headquartered in Arusha, Tanzania, now has seven members: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda and DRC.

The EAC's current Chairman, Kenyan Head of State Uhuru Kenyatta, formalized the DRC's membership during an extraordinary online summit of leaders of member states.

"The entry of the DRC marks a momentous moment in the history of the region's integration", declared Uhuru Kenyatta.

"The EAC now extends from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, which makes the region competitive and facilitates its access to the largest Continental Free Trade Area" (CFTA, which brings together several sub-regions of the continent), underlined the secretary general of the organization, Peter Mathuki.

Founded in 2000, the EAC aims in particular to facilitate cross-border trade by eliminating customs duties between its member states.

It established a common market in 2010.

With its 90 million inhabitants, the DRC brings the potential market of the EAC to nearly 300 million people.

Endowed with significant mineral resources, the country shares borders with all EAC member states except Kenya.

It is already a member of three other regional trade organizations.

The last country to be admitted into the EAC was South Sudan in March 2016.

© 2022 AFP