For EAC member states, the vast market of the DRC is clearly a draw.
All EAC’s member states have a trade surplus with the country. EAC exports to DRC almost doubled to $940m between 2014 to 2019. Kenya’s top banks including Equity Bank and KCB are buying up financial institutions in the DRC, creating a new corridor of commerce.
But for the newest member of the regional bloc, it is security and natural resource protection which matter most.
During a speech at State House in Nairobi on 8 April, President Tshisekedi said that DRC did not join solely for benefits of commerce, he said, because “commerce and trade thrive in an environment of peace and security for everyone.”
Tshisekedi has also called for the establishment of a new EAC organ focused on mining, natural resources and energy, to be based in Kinshasa.
Easier said than done perhaps, given the historical rift between Uganda and
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