In a significant diplomatic shift, Rwanda has officially withdrawn from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), a regional bloc aimed at fostering economic integration among Central African nations. The announcement came Saturday, coinciding with the 26th ECCAS Summit held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
“Rwanda deplores the instrumentalisation of the Economic Community of Central African States by the DRC,” stated the Rwandan government in a formal communiqué.
Rwanda’s statement expressed frustration over what it described as a politically motivated move by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to obstruct Kigali’s scheduled assumption of the ECCAS rotational presidency — a position Rwanda claims it was entitled to under Article 6 of the organization’s founding treaty.
“This deviation has come to light once more today in the context of the 26th Summit in Malabo, where Rwanda’s right to the rotational presidency, as laid down in article 6 of the treaty, was deliberately ignored to impose the diktat of the DRC,” the statement read.
According to reports, Rwanda was due to assume the presidency for the upcoming year during the summit. However, officials from the DRC reportedly objected to attending any summit held on Rwandan soil, citing ongoing bilateral tensions. As a result, the presidency was instead handed to Equatorial Guinea, which had already served in that role for the past year.
The breakdown in relations between Rwanda and the DRC follows months of heightened military conflict, particularly involving confrontations between Congolese forces and the M23 rebel group, which Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting — an allegation Kigali denies.
Prior to Rwanda’s withdrawal, ECCAS consisted of eleven member states: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, and Chad.
