Meeting of the congolese Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen'Apala with the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sophie Wilmès in the Kingdom of Belgium
Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès met last Friday in Brussels with Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen'Apala, congolese Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs who stayed in Belgium from Thursday to Saturday.
At the invitation of Her Excellency Madame Sophie Wilmès, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Head of Congolese diplomacy paid a visit to the Kingdom of Belgium from 21 to 23 October 2021.
"This visit confirms the desire of Belgium and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to strengthen their strategic partnership and maintain close consultation in many areas" following the visit carried out from September 18 to 22, 2019 by the president Congolese Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, said the two ministers in a joint statement.
It should be recalled that the said presidential visit resulted in particular in the signing of a memorandum on strengthening cooperation between the two foreign ministries, which provides for regular bilateral consultations.
The two Congolese and Belgian diplomats congratulated themselves on "the excellence of bilateral relations" and the spirit of mutual respect which characterize them, referring to the political consultations held in Brussels in September 2019 as well as in January 2021 at the level ministries of foreign affairs.
During their meeting, Mr. Lutundula gave a broad overview of the current political issues in the DRC. Ms. Wilmès for her part "in particular reiterated Belgium's attachment to the holding of credible and transparent elections in 2023, to the fight against impunity and corruption as well as to the continuous improvement of the human rights situation. human ".
This visit confirms the desire of Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo to strengthen their strategic partnership and maintain close consultation in many areas following the visit carried out from September 18 to 22, 2019 by His Excellency Mr. Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
During this visit, a "Memorandum on the strengthening of cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of Belgium" had in particular been signed providing for regular bilateral consultations.
In this context and while welcoming the excellence of bilateral relations and the spirit of mutual respect which characterize them, the two Deputy Prime Ministers held on 22 October at the Egmont Palace in Brussels a meeting to make the assessment of the work carried out since the political consultations held in Brussels in September 2019 and in January 2021 at the level of the ministries of foreign affairs.
The two Ministers discussed various issues of common interest concerning both the internal situation of the two countries and their bilateral relations, whether on the political, economic and cooperation level. In terms of economic relations, the two Ministers exchanged the instruments of ratification of the Convention on the protection and mutual promotion of investments between the DRC and the Belgian-Luxembourg Economic Union. They welcomed the important signal that this step means in terms of strengthening legal certainty for Belgian and Luxembourg entrepreneurs wishing to invest in the DRC or having already done so. Minister Wilmès encouraged the Congolese authorities to continue improving the business climate following the measures already taken to make it favorable to national and foreign investors.
In terms of judicial cooperation, Minister Lutundula informed of the adoption by the Council of Ministers of a bill ratifying the bilateral convention on judicial cooperation in criminal matters and another on the convention on the transfer of prisoners with a view to their transmission to Parliament, which Minister Wilmès welcomed positively.
The two Ministers also had a rich exchange on the program of the Presidency of the Democratic Republic of Congo of the African Union as well as on European Union-African Union relations. They agreed to consult regularly on these issues.
Regarding the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in particular, His Excellency Christophe Lutundula Pen’Apala, gave a broad overview of current political issues. In this regard, Minister Wilmès notably reiterated Belgium's attachment to the holding of credible and transparent elections in 2023, to the fight against impunity and corruption as well as to the continuous improvement of the situation.n human rights.
The two Ministers agreed to continue to work on international issues of common interest, such as the reform of the United Nations, the strengthening of the multilateral system, the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, the reduction of extreme poverty as well as the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They also discussed the issue of MONUSCO's mandate and the transition phase.
Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen’Apala thanked the Belgian side for the warm welcome extended to him, as well as to the accompanying Delegation.
Finally, the two ministers agreed to hold a new consultation session next year in Kinshasa, at a date to be determined through diplomatic channels.
Cassien Tribunal Aungane, Editor
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