Guest of honor at the Peace Forum in Paris, Felix Tshisekedi wants to get the DRC out of its isolation
The Congolese head of state is expected in France and then in Germany to consolidate the links between Kinshasa and Europe, after an official visit to Belgium.
Guest of honor at the Paris Peace Forum, the new President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, travels extensively abroad to bring his huge country out of isolation, in the name of its development. and stability in Central Africa. President Tshisekedi is expected from Monday 11 to Wednesday 13 November in France and Germany to consolidate the links between Kinshasa and Europe, after an official visit to Belgium, the former colonizer, in September.
Along the way, he stopped in Uganda to discuss with his neighbor President Yoweri Museveni the strategic issue of fighting against armed groups in eastern DRC. This warming of relations with Kampala had been preceded as early as March-April by the restoration of good-neighborly relations with Rwanda, another country directly concerned with security and stability in the Great Lakes region.
Since his inauguration on 24 January, the Congolese President has visited more than twenty countries, some of them several times, for bilateral or multilateral meetings. It began with Africa (Angola, Rwanda, Ethiopia), followed by the United States, Japan, Belgium, Russia and even Serbia, a country that has turned relatively little towards the continent.
The contrast is striking with his predecessor Joseph Kabila, who was reluctant to leave the DRC for fear of political tensions at the end of his reign between 2015 and 2018 (postponement of elections in 2016, demonstrations, bloody repression). Joseph Kabila clinging to power, the United States and the European Union (EU) have sanctioned his regime. Kinshasa has returned with the expulsion of the EU ambassador and the refusal of foreign observers for the elections of December 2018 in particular.
"Restoring bilateral and multilateral links"
"The country has suffered in the last two or three years from a form of isolation linked to the break between the former regime and its partners," says the roving ambassador of the current head of state, Nicolas Kazadi. "We needed to restore both bilateral and multilateral links, as well as to financial institutions," he added.
As such, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sent two missions to the DRC in June and November, a first since 2015. Kinshasa hopes that the IMF will grant it a program and credit facilities by the end of the year. year. Snapped by Joseph Kabila in 2018, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was received by Mr. Tshisekedi in early September in Kinshasa and the UN Mission in Congo (Monusco) is preparing to renew his mandate in the DRC despite emergencies elsewhere. on the continent.
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Diplomacy also appears as a weapon for internal use by the President of the Republic, who governs in coalition with the forces of his predecessor, ultra-majority in Parliament. In the United States in early April, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo supported his "program of change, focused on fighting corruption, strengthening governance, promoting human rights."
In Washington, the Congolese president had himself asked for help from the United States and said he wanted to "dismantle the dictatorial system that was in place" in the DRC. These statements had earned him a reminder to his pro-Kabila allies, who had denounced "free attacks".
Overcrowded delegations
In the DRC, the President's multiple displacements make some teeth creak. "The president of the roving Republic Felix Tshisekedi began this Sunday morning an official visit to the DRC," quipped the citizen movement Fight for Change (Lucha) in early October.
Lucha suggested to the president to devote more time between two trips abroad to domestic issues, starting with the big project of free primary education. Lucha also denounces the plethoric delegations that accompany the president, advancing the figure of 117 people for his last trip to Uganda.
Read also In Bukavu, President Tshisekedi says he is "ready to die for peace" in eastern DRC
By May 31, the Congolese presidency had already "consumed nearly 98%" of its 2019 budget, according to the magazine Jeune Afrique quoting a document from the Ministry of Budget. These displacements even annoy the supporters of the president. "In the provinces, everyone is waiting for it. He will start visiting the provinces in 2021 or 2022? Julia reacts, yet pro-Tshisekedi activist.
Since April, President Tshisekedi has made a dozen trips inside the DRC, mainly to the east, where the fight against armed groups also involves good relations with Uganda and Rwanda.
"Restoring bilateral and multilateral links"
"The country has suffered in the last two or three years from a form of isolation linked to the break between the former regime and its partners," says the roving ambassador of the current head of state, Nicolas Kazadi. "We needed to restore both bilateral and multilateral links, as well as to financial institutions," he added.
As such, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sent two missions to the DRC in June and November, a first since 2015. Kinshasa hopes that the IMF will grant it a program and credit facilities by the end of the year. year. Snapped by Joseph Kabila in 2018, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was received by Mr. Tshisekedi in early September in Kinshasa and the UN Mission in Congo (Monusco) is preparing to renew his mandate in the DRC despite emergencies elsewhere. on the continent.
Article reserved for our subscribers Read also In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the risky sharing of power
Diplomacy also appears as a weapon for internal use by the President of the Republic, who governs in coalition with the forces of his predecessor, ultra-majority in Parliament. In the United States in early April, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo supported his "program of change, focused on fighting corruption, strengthening governance, promoting human rights."
In Washington, the Congolese president had himself asked for help from the United States and said he wanted to "dismantle the dictatorial system that was in place" in the DRC. These statements had earned him a reminder to his pro-Kabila allies, who had denounced "free attacks".
Overcrowded delegations
In the DRC, the President's multiple displacements make some teeth creak. "The president of the roving Republic Felix Tshisekedi began this Sunday morning an official visit to the DRC," quipped the citizen movement Fight for Change (Lucha) in early October.
Lucha suggested to the president to devote more time between two trips abroad to domestic issues, starting with the big project of free primary education. Lucha also denounces the plethoric delegations that accompany the president, advancing the figure of 117 people for his last trip to Uganda.
Read also In Bukavu, President Tshisekedi says he is "ready to die for peace" in eastern DRC
By May 31, the Congolese presidency had already "consumed nearly 98%" of its 2019 budget, according to the magazine Jeune Afrique quoting a document from the Ministry of Budget. These displacements even annoy the supporters of the president. "In the provinces, everyone is waiting for it. He will start visiting the provinces in 2021 or 2022? Julia reacts, yet pro-Tshisekedi activist.
Since April, President Tshisekedi has made a dozen trips inside the DRC, mainly to the east, where the fight against armed groups also involves good relations with Uganda and Rwanda.
Cassien Tribunal Aungane, Editor
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