Four months after the re-election of President Félix Tshisekedi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is calling on Belgians to invest in their former colony to boost its business climate.
"There are not many countries that know the Congo as well as Belgium," Patrick Muyaya, the outgoing Congolese government spokesperson told L'Echo.
"You may find me provocative, but the Belgians of 150 years ago were far more adventurous than the Belgians of today. They came by boat, faced dangers and colonised Congo. They built Belgium, they had a sense of business. They created everything in Congo," he said.
One of the reasons the Congolese government is calling on Belgium for investments is to counter the expanding Chinese and Indian influence and presence in the region. "We're in a situation where it's time for the Belgians to invest in the Congo," Muyaya says. "As long as the Europeans hesitate, the Chinese and Indians will take over."
DRC Congo President Felix Tshisekedi delivers a speech in 2019. Credit: Belga
In 2016, an American company sold one of the world's cobalt giants, the Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), to China, which now has acquired an 80% majority stake alongside Gécamine, a Congolese mining company.
This month, Walloon Export Agency (Awex) is organising a multi-sector economic and trade mission to the DRC, in which dozens of Belgian business owners will travel to the region to scope out investment and trade opportunities.
According to the former minister, there are many sectors in which to invest, including mining, housing, energy, roads and agriculture. "The needs are immense. We need to build 5 million homes, 50,000 km of roads and dams," he adds.
Yet, despite the calls for investment, the Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi made a point about Africa's relationship with Western countries in a televised interview on French media LCI during his trip this week. While naming Europe the best choice for a partnership with Africa, he called out the "arrogance" and "lesson-giving" of the West on issues such as human rights, compared to China and Russia.
'Whatever the cost'
Tshisekedi was re-elected four months ago and talks for the new Congolese government are still ongoing. The DRC's economy is expected to grow by 6.4% this year, after rising to 9% in 2023, according to L'Echo.
The country's soil is rich with indispensable minerals for the global technology industry – yet the population does not access these resources or wealth, which is often extracted illegally out of the country, including to Rwanda.
With more than 100 million inhabitants and one of the poorest places in the world, the country is also grappling with a conflict in the east of the country with the M23 rebel group and the incursion of Rwandan troops.
This week, Tshisekedi travelled to Brussels on Thursday and Friday, where he met with members of the Congolese diaspora in Belgium and addressed the situation in the east of the country.
A man wearing sunglasses with the colours of Belgian flag, black, yellow and red, in Kinshasa during a Belgian diplomatic mission to Congo, Wednesday 10 April 2024. Credit: Belga
Speaking at the conference with some 1,800 representatives of Belgium's Congolese community in Pavilion 10 of the Palais du Heysel, Tshisekedi refused to rule out "a higher-intensity conflict" with Rwanda, the Congolese Press Agency reported.
"What Rwanda is doing on our soil is an economic war. That is why we are determined to fight this evil, and I assure you that we will win this fight, whatever the cost," declared the Head of State.
A few weeks back, a collection of donations and funds was organised by non-profit SOS RDCongo at Brussels Expo, with the support of the City of Brussels. The results were deemed "remarkable" and "beyond expectations," according one of the coordinators behind the initiative.
