France has committed to mobilize 300 million euros to support the quinquennium of the President of the Republic, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi. This financial support to the DRC will be for health, security, education, agriculture and the environment. This is what the Roadmap of Franco-Congolese cooperation « revitalized » provides.

The announcement has just been made by the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian at the end of the hearing granted by the head of state on Monday, May 20, 2019 in Kinshasa.

According to him, this roadmap will be enriched following the resolutions taken with the Head of State particularly in the fields of agriculture and energy. This could lead to an upward revision of France’s support package to the DRC.

Jean-Yves Le Drian also announced the upcoming arrival in Kinshasa of a French delegation to study with Congolese experts.

Indeed, the two countries that have long-standing relations, based on friendship, trust and cultural and linguistic proximity, have resolved to deepen bilateral cooperation.

On the one hand, France and the DRC want to implement a partnership to support common priorities: education, health and safety. On the other hand, France and the DRC reaffirm their willingness to collaborate on important topics: the fight against climate change, the protection of biodiversity in the spirit of the One Planet Summit in Nairobi, and the strengthening of the Francophonie in all its dimensions, « says the joint statement.

To achieve these objectives, France will strengthen its assistance to the DRC by using
several instruments. These are the means to implement these ambitions.

The joint statement refers to the next debt and development contract, which France and the DRC wish to sign soon, for an amount of 65 million euros over three years; and the rise of the French Development Agency (AFD), whose grants will reach 30 million euros in 2019 and whose target is 50 million euros for 2020 and 2021.

« Our respective contributions to the various international organizations for a total amount of 209 million dollars (without the contribution to the financing of MONUSCO), such as the Global Fund (to which France is the second largest contributor worldwide), or the Alliance for the Vaccine (to which France has contributed 450 million dollars and of which the DRC is one of the first beneficiaries), UNITAID (where France contributes 60%) and the 11th EDF (with an envelope of 650 million euros in the DRC) that make it possible to define a multidimensional action in the DRC, « the statement said.

Eric Tshikuma