The Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Philippe Goffin, will make an official visit to Congo from 9 to 11 January 2020.
It will be the first visit since Didier Reynders, Goffin's predecessor, visited in November 2017, when relations between the countries were at a low.
Goffin will travel to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for a number of meetings, and will then continue on the Lubumbashi, in the southeast of the country, reports De Tijd. There, he wants to reopen the Belgian Consulate General, which was closed in response to a number of criticising Belgian statements, in February 2018 by the former Congolese President, Joseph Kabila. No more official visits were made.
Even though Belgium criticised the controversial election of the new President, Felix Tshisekedi, it gave him the benefit of the doubt, and the ties between both countries gradually strengthened, reports VRT.
In September, Tshisekedi paid an official state visit to Belgium in September 2019, and now the Belgian Foreign Minister's visit will have to clear the air completely.
In June 2020, the country will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from Belgium.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
