Congolese cautiously optimistic as DRC joins East African bloc

Currency traders

A street in Kinshasa, DR Congo. PHOTO | AFP 

The Democratic Republic of Congo was officially admitted as the seventh member state of the East African Community on Tuesday, expanding the bloc’s market to 280 million people, spanning the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

President Felix Tshisekedi addressing the virtual 19th extraordinary summit of the heads of state, said the membership represents mutual benefits.