- With a view to boosting bilateral ties, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya have signed crucial agreements on transport, security and trade.
- The agreement was signed during Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta’s first-ever three day State visits to the Democratic Republic of Congo from 20th April.
With a view to boosting bilateral ties, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya have signed crucial agreements on transport, security and trade. The agreement was signed during Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta’s first ever three-day State visits to the Democratic Republic of Congo from 20th April.
A statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry said that President Kenyatta’s state visit at the invitation of President Felix Tshisekedi is expected to strengthen the bilateral ties between Kenya and the DRC through expansion of trade and people-to-people interactions.
A new deal to handle cargo from the port of Mombasa that grants the DRC certain privileges for using Kenyan facilities was signed during the visit. Kenya also proposes to open diplomatic outposts in Goma and Lubumbashi in eastern DRC to ease consular services for traders. The revised Agreement on Maritime Freight Management will be the basic legal framework in handling all freight cargo coming through Mombasa destined for the DRC.
In 2020 Kenya’s trade with DRC stood at Sh1.8 billion, 70 per cent of which were goods sold to eastern DRC. The deal is expected to cut down delays on DRC imports by dedicating clearing channels for the goods headed for the DR Congo market. According to reports, the arrangement may include specialised yards for goods from Congo and its officials may be deployed at Kenyan ports to speed up clearing of goods. Mombasa gets a marginal share of handling around 15 per cent of the goods sent to DRC, while Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Beira in Mozambique claims the major share.
President Kenyatta urged the technical teams from both sides to ease the movement of people between the two countries. Having a proper cargo handling framework will also lead to harmonisation of the fees charged on goods imported on their territories. The new deal will address the anomalies in the Bilateral Air Service Agreement and transportation of freight cargo.
The signing of a defense cooperation agreement will cover policing, war on terrorism, maritime and aviation security and immigration and also future issues on customs, especially before the DRC joins the EAC. The deal covers cooperation on counter-terrorism, weapon smuggling, regularised immigration, customs control and cybersecurity.
