Understanding Rwanda in Reference to Its Location
Senior 3 · History and Citizenship
Understanding Rwanda in Reference to Its Location
Lesson 3 of 3
25 min
On 1 July 2007, Rwanda and Burundi joined the East African Community (EAC). By 2024 it had eight Partner States and, according to the EAC, an estimated 331.1 million citizens.
Analysing the map. The Community now stretches from the Atlantic coast of DR Congo to the Indian Ocean coasts of Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia. For a landlocked country such as Rwanda, this matters: the transit countries of Lesson 2, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, are now partners bound by the same treaty.
Definition
Regional integration: the process by which neighbouring countries agree to cooperate closely, removing barriers to trade and movement and sharing some decisions.
Partner State: the EAC's name for a member country.
Customs union: an agreement to remove tariffs on trade between members and to charge one common tariff on goods from outside.
Common market: a customs union that also allows free movement of people, workers, services and capital.
Monetary union: members share one currency and one central monetary policy.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1967 | Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania form the first East African Community |
| 1977 | The first Community collapses after political and economic disputes |
| 1999 to 2000 | The Treaty re-establishing the EAC is signed on 30 November 1999 and enters into force on 7 July 2000 |
| 2007 | Rwanda and Burundi join on 1 July |
| 2016 | South Sudan joins on 15 August |
| 2022 | The Democratic Republic of the Congo joins on 11 July |
| 2024 | Somalia joins on 4 March |
The Treaty sets the Community's aim: to widen and deepen cooperation among the Partner States in political, economic, social and cultural matters, and in research, defence, security and legal affairs, for their mutual benefit. It plans integration in four stages.
Rwanda also belongs to other groupings: the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL, founded in 1976 with Burundi and Zaire), the African Union, and the African Continental Free Trade Area, whose agreement was signed in Kigali on 21 March 2018.
EAC Customs Union, East African Community (EAC). Watch for what a customs union removes between Partner States and what it keeps the same at the Community's outer borders.
Worked example: evaluating integration
Question: "Joining the EAC has done more good than harm for Rwanda." Discuss. (6 marks)
Good: access to a market of more than 300 million people; easier travel and study with national ID cards; joint work on transport corridors that lower the costs of a landlocked country.
Harm or limits: border closures during political tensions; non-tariff barriers; competition from larger economies.
Judgement: for a small, landlocked country the benefits of partnership with its transit neighbours are larger than the costs, but they depend on good relations being kept up. A balanced answer with evidence on both sides, ending in a reasoned judgement, earns full marks.
Should East Africa adopt a single currency? List what Rwandan traders and travellers would gain, and what Rwanda would give up.
Tip
Remember the stages in order: Customs Union (2005), Common Market (2010), Monetary Union (protocol 2013), Political Federation (goal). A memory hook: "Can Children Make Plans?"
Practice
Further reading
Sources and credits
