Democratic Republic of Congo: Foreign Relations

(asked on 8th January 2024) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to support (a) peaceful and (b) inclusive dialogue in Democratic Republic of the Congo following the presidential election; and what steps he is taking to engage with his Congolese counterpart on (i) insecurity, (ii) climate objectives and (iii) other issues.


Answered by
Andrew Mitchell Portrait
Andrew Mitchell
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
This question was answered on 16th January 2024

The United Kingdom commends Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) voters for their participation in the Presidential elections and their determination to exercise their democratic rights. We note the preliminary reports of electoral observation missions which flagged several irregularities in the electoral process. We, along with our partners, urge the government of DRC to investigate any issues transparently. We are also encouraging all parties to raise any complaints through peaceful and constitutional means. The UK remains a committed partner to DRC - including on climate, where we co-chair the development partner working group that coordinates with Government, and chair the Central African Forest Initiative. We will continue working with GoDRC and the region to address insecurity. We are concerned about the appalling humanitarian situation in eastern DRC, and are addressing this through the recently announced 3-year £98 million UK funded humanitarian and resilience programme for crisis affected communities where food insecurity is highest.

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