The Democratic Republic of Congo became the 45th African country to join the Silk Road Initiative. An MoU was initialed in that regard last week between the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, and his Congolese counterpart, Marie Tumba Nzeza, when the Chinese envoy visited the African country.
As a reminder, this initiative, which is valued at several trillion dollars, aims to link China to Europe via Africa. The deal with DR Congo will “strengthen bilateral economic cooperation between the two partners, bring a stronger dynamic to their mutually beneficial exchange, and open new prospects for their relations," the Chinese minister said.
This new move comes at a time when the government of Felix Tshisekedi is trying to strengthen its collaboration with its international partners, to obtain the necessary assistance to revive the economy. To achieve this goal, the Congolese authorities have obtained the cancellation of $28 million of their debt to the Middle Kingdom, in addition to a support of $2 million to the mandate of Tshisekedi to the presidency of the African Union.
The new agreement could also serve as a trigger for additional Chinese investments in the Central African country, whose large mineral reserves should play an important role in the Silk Road project.
The implementation of the new Silk Road has been accompanied by a wave of financing for African countries in recent years. Between 2000 and 2015, China granted no less than $94.4 billion in loans to countries on the continent.
Moutiou Adjibi Nourou
• Inflation within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) fell to a two-year low of 0....
• Qatar Airways and Kenya Airways establish strategic agreement, introducing a third daily flight be...
• Interbank volumes rose 18.7% in May, while rates declined across the market• The BCEAO cut its mai...
• EY is preparing to leave Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa by 2026• The exit could unlock $500 m...
As cybersecurity asserts itself as a pillar of digital sovereignty in West Africa, technology-free z...
Nigeria’s government launched a partnership to integrate digital literacy into rural primary and secondary schools. The initiative aims to tackle...
• Rwanda cut multidimensional child poverty nearly in half among 5–14-year-olds—from 25.3% to 11.9% between 2016 and 2024.• Free basic education and...
South32 plans to revise its 2026 production forecast for the Mozal aluminium smelter due to unresolved energy supply negotiations. The current...
The world’s renewable energy capacity grew by 582 GW in 2024 but still falls short of the 2030 tripling target. Africa’s renewable capacity...
Malawi’s Mount Mulanje and Cameroon’s Diy-Gid-Biy added to UNESCO World Heritage List Africa still holds 25% of endangered sites, despite recent...
Kolmanskop offers a haunting blend of lost wealth, colonial history, and the unstoppable force of nature. Located just a few kilometers inland from...