South Sudan has joined the East African Community, the regional economic bloc comprising of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.

President Salva Kiir signed the treaty on Friday in Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salaam, the EAC said on its Twitter account.

The bloc had a combined population of at least 162 million people and gross domestic product of $147.5 billion, excluding South Sudan. It aspires to adopt a single currency and political federation.