The DR Congo’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen’Apala, on Monday, July 11, deposited his country’s instruments of ratification on the accession of EAC Treaty, to the EAC Secretary General, Peter Mathuki.

The formal presentation of the instrument of ratification, which marked the final phase of admission of the country as EAC’s seventh member, was done at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. 

Mathuki said: "Today is a very significant day for the Community and for the Democratic Republic of Congo as the Secretary General receives the Instrument of Ratification of the Treaty of Accession by the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.”

It comes after Kinshasa completed the internal and constitutional processes to ratify the EAC Treaty DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi signed on April 8. Kinshasa had been given up to September 29, a period of about six months, to undertake internal and constitutional processes to ratify the EAC Treaty and submit to the EAC Secretary General.

Depositing of instruments of ratification with the EAC Secretary General is the final step in the admission of a new member as set in the Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community.

‪By depositing the instruments, DR Congo now has full rights and privileges like any EAC partner state to participate in all the bloc’s programs and activities and affirms to meet the obligations of the bloc.

Among others, it means that from now on, the DR Congo will fully participate in all EAC programs and activities and also join various areas of cooperation with the bloc.

The vast country now joins the EAC and the cooperation by all the partner states in all the sectors, programmes and activities that promote the four pillars of regional integration – the customs union, the common market, monetary union and political federation.

 The EAC Secretariat had already developed a draft roadmap for DR Congo’s integration into the bloc. Congolese officials will now go through the document with their EAC counterparts to design a final document that gives a proper timeline on each process and the related costs.