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International Partnerships

Democratic Republic of Congo

Overview

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa and the most populous Francophone country in the world, with over 100 million inhabitants. DRC plays a significant role in regional peace and stability and the development of inter-regional trade in central Africa and the Great Lakes region.

The country is endowed with large natural resources, including minerals (cobalt and copper), hydropower potential, vast arable land, and exceptional biodiversity (home to the second largest tropical forest in the world).

Our partnership

The EU supports the sustainable and inclusive development of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in line with the National Strategic Development Plan (PNSD) and the Global Gateway strategy

Our action builds on the strategic position of the DRC in Central Africa to foster regional peace and stability, preserve biodiversity and sustainably manage natural resources. The renewed EU Great Lakes Strategy supports the transformation of the root causes of regional instability into shared opportunities.

Team Europe in DRC brings together the EU, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, andthe European Investment Bank (EIB).

The EU allocated €424 million grants to the partnership with the DRC for the period 2021-24. The DRC also benefits from regional and global EU programmes.

Our key initiatives

Sustainable critical raw materials

The EU and the DRC signed a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials value chains in October 2023. It aims to diversify raw materials supply chains, as well as to develop local value addition and to align production to international Environmental, Social and Governance (‘ESG’) standards. One of the central aims of the MoU is also to promote the sustainable and responsible sourcing of raw materials, transforming trafficking of mineral resources into legitimate trade. There are several strand of actions:

  • Development of sustainable raw materials value chains, including networking, joint development of projects (e.g., through joint ventures), the creation of new business models and the promotion and facilitation of links between trade and investment, support for economic diversification, ensuring the proper functioning, sustainability, and resilience.
  • Mobilisation of funding for infrastructure required for the development of raw material value chains.
  • Sustainable and responsible production, sourcing, and valorisation of critical and strategic raw materials, including through strengthening governance, due diligence and traceability, cooperation in the fight against illegal international trafficking in raw materials and aligning with international ESG standards.
  • Research and innovation, knowledge-sharing and technologies related to the exploration, extraction, refining, processing, recovery and sustainable recycling of critical and strategic raw materials, substitution of critical and strategic raw materials, and monitoring of supply risks.
  • Capacity building including strengthening training and skills development related to the critical and strategic raw materials value chain.
Transport

Transport connectivity is essential to promote DRC economic growth, regional integration and the diversification of the CRM supply chains. The EU partnership supports that on several strands:

  • Development of the Lobito economic Corridor - Enhancing the multimodal transport capacity between the Congolese copper belt and the Atlantic coast of the continent (Angolan port of Lobito), by renovating and modernizing the 420 km railway tracks DRC to Angola. 
  • Development of the multimodal section from Ubangi crossing to Zongo (border with Central African Republic) to the Lisala river port on the Congo River, as part of the Douala-Kampala-Mombasa Corridor.
  • Rehabilitation of roads – like the Route Nationale 1.
Energy

Supporting the renewable energy production to meet the growing needs of the mining sector and the population and to improve the regional electricity distribution between the DRC and Uganda and Zambia. Initiatives aim to stimulate investment in affordable green energy production, particularly in key landscapes like Naturafrica, to promote sustainable energy solutions.

  • Boosting private sector operations to improve access to renewable energy in priority areas, facilitating energy access and investment.
  • Development of national and regional transmission lines, including the Ruzizi 3, DRC-Uganda, and DRC-Zambia lines, to strengthen energy connectivity and distribution across the region.
  • Rehabilitation of the Tshopo Hydropower Plant in Kisangani to enhance local electricity supply and support energy needs in the region.
  • Rwanguba II Hydropower Plant: improving electricity supply from Virunga Park to Goma and benefiting surrounding communities.
  • Support for the development of a regional energy market, enabling better integration of renewable energy and facilitating cross-border electricity exchanges.
Digital

Supporting the development of digital infrastructure, including the deployment of a fibre optic cable in Eastern DRC and the construction of GSM antennas in remote areas, as well as systematic support for digitalisation implemented in a variety of sectors, including health, education, public finance, and cybersecurity.

Biodiversity preservation and agri-business

Fostering the agro-ecological transition and creating the conditions for sustainable food sovereignty, the EU partners with DRC on:

  • Sustainable management of protected areas: supporting the regeneration and conservation of biodiversity and agroecological systems in particular in 5 NaturAfrica landscapes: GarambaSalongaUpembaVirunga and Yangambi.
  • Value chains: support selected value chains such as wheat, maize, cassava, and coffee/plantain banana to create jobs, increase food production and security and expand export opportunities.
Human development

To improve access to health, foster gender equality and to train young people, our actions focus on:

  • Providing more than 11 million Congolese with access to better essential health services, including for mothers and children.
  • Strengthening women’s rights and economic empowerment
  • Increasing the number of pupils enrolled in school and supporting the improvement of the quality of teaching, including in technical education.
Governance, peace, and security

To consolidate a peaceful democracy and sustainably increase state resources, we focus on:

  • Supporting structural reforms of the security services (police, defence and justice) 
  • Promoting a favourable environment for civil society organisations 
  • Assisting in setting up transparent, participatory, and peaceful electoral processes
  • Helping to mobilise better and more transparent domestic revenues, in particular revenues from the mining sector 
  • Fostering the improvement of the business climate and attractiveness for foreign investments.