Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries

The Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC) (in French CEPGL - Communauté Économique des Pays des Grand Lacs) is a sub-regional organization with multiple vocation created by the signing of the Agreement of Gisenyi in Rwanda on September 20, 1976, aiming at insuring the safety of member states, at favoring the creation and the development of activities of public interest, at promoting the trades and the traffic of the persons and the possessions, at establishing the cooperation in a narrow way in all the domains of the political, economic and social life.

It has three members: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire) , and Rwanda. Its purpose is to promote regional economic cooperation and integration.

The CEPGL controls the following institutions:

• the Bank of Development of the States of the Great Lakes (BDEGL)
• the Comité Permanent Inter-Compagnies (COPIC)
• the Institute of the Agronomic Researches and Zootechniques (IRAZ)
• the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries Organization for Energy (EGL)
• the International Society for Electricity in the Great Lakes Region (SINELAC)
• the Research Center for the Development of the Mining Resources in Central Africa (CRDRMAC).