Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) leader Félix Tshisekedi Wednesday called on UAE to lead the horde of countries willing to support the central African country’s economic development and reconstruction, Zawya reports.
“The Democratic Republic of Congo would ask the emerging countries, especially the UAE, to associate with this great modernization to one of the most important countries of the African continent, and to help this huge reconstruction,” he told GBF Africa at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo 2020 Dubai.
“My country would like to learn from the lesson of the UAE in order to have the appropriate capacities into the PPPs. “With the UAE at the forefront of all the countries to support us in our new development, we will be more than happy to reinforce our ties to the infrastructure, energy and development of human resources, to the SMEs, and agriculture and new technology and communication.”
Tshisekedi at the conference called for assistance to support Congo’s economic development. The country reportedly boasts $24 trillion of untapped resources.
DRC also houses 70 percent of global coltan – a key raw material in smartphones and laptops – a third of the world’s cobalt, 30 percent of the world’s supply of diamonds and 10 percent of copper, but is in need of infrastructure investment. The country also an area of 2.345 trillion sq.m. with the largest forest reserves outside of the Amazon.
Tshisekedi came to power in 2019 during the first peaceful transfer of power. The African leader is currently the Chair of the African Union (AU), the largest continental political body.
DRC woos UAE to back economic development
