South Sudan has been admitted into the East African Community as the sixth member state.
The 17th Ordinary Heads of State Summit in Arusha in Tanzania took the decision on Wednesday.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni first tweeted earlier in the day that Tanzanian President John Magufuli had informed him about the decision the summit was going to take.
The membership of South Sudan now increases the common market of the East African Community to 162 million people.
South Sudan applied for the membership soon after gaining independence from in 2011.
However, the members rejected South Sudan’s bid in December 2012 because of its periodic conflict with neighboring Sudan and a lack of a democratic culture by the ruling Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement, SPLM.
The 1999 EAC Treaty sets out conditions for membership, including adherence to universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice.
When civil war erupted in December 2013, experts thought that the crisis left ‘little chance of its being considered, given many reports of crimes against humanity and war crimes’.
It’s now unclear why the economic bloc accepted South Sudan’s application against the treaty.
Analysts suggested that South Sudan’s early efforts to integrate infrastructure, including rail links and oil pipelines, with systems in Kenya and Uganda indicated intention on the part of Juba to pivot away from dependence on Sudan and toward the EAC.
On the other hand, citizens have raised concerns that South Sudan’s economy is not sufficiently developed to compete with EAC member states and could become a ‘dumping ground’ for Kenyan, Tanzanian, and Ugandan imports.
(Additional information by Ayuen Panchol)