The Republic of Congo is located in Central Africa. It has a population of 5.8 million inhabitants and 65% of its surface is covered by tropical forest. It is one of the least densely populated countries in Africa.
Endowed with mineral resources and largely dependent on oil, which represents about 80% of its exports, the low middle-income country aims to accelerate its development while preserving its natural resources.
Our partnership
In line with its Global Gateway strategy, the European Union supports the Republic of Congo to move away from an economy mainly based on oil towards a green, digital, diversified, and inclusive economy.
Team Europe in Congo, gathering the EU, France, and Germany, is supporting the preservation of the Congo Basin’s forests and the transition to a sustainable development path.
The EU has adopted a programming document for the period 2021-27 under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe). Under this framework, the EU allocated €73 million in grant funding to the partnerships with Congo. The country also benefits from a number of multi-country EU programmes.
Multiannual Indicative Programme 2021-2027 for the Republic of Congo - annex (French)
Annual action plan 2023 for the Republic of Congo (French)
Annual action plan 2022 for the Republic of Congo (French)
Annual action plan 2021 for the Republic of Congo (French)
Forest Partnership Republic of Congo infographic (French)
Programming documents 2014-2020 for the Republic of Congo (French)
Our flagship initiatives
- Forests
to support the Republic of the Congo in preserving its forests in line with the EU-Congo Forest Partnership and the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade. Support focuses notably on:
- Governance: ensuring the sustainable management of forests, peatlands, and their carbon stocks by, for example, reinforcing the capacities of authorities and supporting independent observation mechanisms.
- Sustainable forest economy and wood processing at the national level: supporting professional training on competences needed by the forestry sector and promoting private sector investments.
- Zero-deforestation agriculture: promoting sustainable agricultural practices instead of slash and burn practices.
- Biodiversity: supporting the protection and sustainable management of the biodiversity of forest ecosystems, for instance through dedicated support for national parcs.
- Green economy
to support inclusive sustainable economic development, jobs creation and decent living conditions in the Republic of Congo. EU support focuses on:
- Agri-value chains: strengthening the private sector notably through trainings and promoting investments in production and processing capacities along priority agri-value chains.
- Human capital: developing skills of the Congolese workforce, integrating notably young people, women, and vulnerable sections of the population, through professional training, in line with the needs of the private sector in green transition.
- Business environment: improving the business climate and economic governance by strengthening the ecosystem to support private sector development.
- Access to finance: improving access to finance for companies through targeted support, and their access to national and international markets by strengthening the national quality control system.
- Transport
to support the extension and environmental upgrading of the Harbour of Pointe-Noire, focusing on environmental standards, financing of the construction of new fishing port infrastructure, and supporting the improvement of maritime vessel monitoring, control and fishery inspection services.
- Digital
to support Congo in advancing a human-centred digitalisation by focusing on:
- Human capital: helping to bridge the divide in digital skills by supporting trainings in line with demands on the job market, and the setting up of national digital skills certification systems.
- E-governance: harnessing digitalisation as a source to improve governance and enhance transparency and public services for citizens, as well as contributing to the development of a regulatory framework for the digital space aligned with European standards.
- Energy
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance rural electrification. Support focuses on:
- Access: improving access to electricity in rural areas through innovative renewable energy projects while gradually reducing the use of wood energy and deforestation.
- Governance: Supporting the development of a regulatory framework that attracts private sector investments and promotes rural electrification based on renewable energies.
- Governance, Democracy and Human Rights
to support actions to improve governance in various sectors notably by promoting participatory and inclusive democratic governance mechanisms through working with civil society organisations, especially women’s organisations.