Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to join the East African Community on Tuesday in a bid to boost its trade, social cohesion and security.
The summit will consider the EAC Council of Ministers’ report into negotiations between the DRC and East African Countries EAC, which have been ongoing for some time.
Trade in eastern Africa is set for a boost after officially welcoming its seventh member, the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC, into the East Africa Community EAC today March 29. Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda , South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda are the other members.
The DRC is the largest and most populous country to join the EAC, bringing a market of 90 million people and immediately upgrading the region’s GDP from $193 billion to $240 billion.
Despite sharing borders with five EAC members, the East African Business Council reports trade between the DRC and its neighbors has been surprisingly low.
The DRC would also enter into a free trade agreement on goods and services with the existing six members, which includes a common external tariff agreement.
Also , as early as June 2019, Kinshasa had expressed its willingness to join the organization in a letter to Paul Kagame, then-current chair of the EAC Heads of State Summit.
JDC TV, Video news 
