The Democratic Republic of Congo’s bid to join the East African Community (EAC) has passed the technical committee stage with final verdict by the regional Council of Ministers expected to be delivered this November.
The EAC technical experts have been reviewing a report of the mission tasked with verifying the readiness of DR Congo. The report touches on the social-economic and political compliance of the country with the Treaty establishing the organisation.
According to the Kenya’s Principal Secretary in the State Department of EAC Affairs, Kevit Desai , DR Congo had presented a ‘strong’ case for admission into the six-member bloc.
Under the EAC Treaty, the criteria for admission of new countries include acceptance of the Community as set out in the treaty, adherence to universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy and the rule of law.
Others are the observance of human rights and social justice, potential contribution to the strengthening of integration within East Africa, and geographical proximity to and inter-dependence between it and the EAC partner states.
Trade with Kinshasa is dominated by China, South Africa, Zambia, Belgium and India, with China taking 31 per cent ($2.07 billion) of the Congo’s total imports ($6.66 billion) in 2019.