Meeting with President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi

Meeting with President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi

On the sidelines of the Russia–Africa Summit, the President of Russia held a meeting with President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo in the Kremlin. Taking part in the meeting on the Russian side were Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Karl Tikhaze, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko and Deputy Defence Minister Vasily Osmakov. * * * President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends, I am glad to see you. At the outset, I would like to thank you for your attention to such an effective instrument for developing relations between Russia and Africa as the Russia–Africa Forum. We appreciate your attention. Thank you for your contribution to this summit’s success. Regarding our bilateral relations, last year we marked 65 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We value the current level of our cooperation. As Doctor Honoris Causa of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, you can see that we remember and hold in high regard the first prime minister of your country – Patrice Lumumba, the true fighter for freedom and independence of African peoples. His name is indeed highly regarded in Russia. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is among Russia’s promising and reliable partners on the African continent. The Russian-Congolese commercial ties are strengthening, our trade turnover is growing. Hopefully, the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation will elevate our cooperation to a new, higher level. Our humanitarian contacts are advancing. In view of Congolese students’ high interest in studying in Russia, we currently allocate 100 scholarships annually to your country’s citizens. Overall, we strive for strengthening our friendship with African states, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We are open to equitable cooperation based on mutual respect and consideration for the interests of both parties. Once again, today we have a good opportunity to discuss the current state of and prospects for Russian-Congolese cooperation, and some issues on the regional and international agendas. Thank you. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi (retranslated): Thank you, Mr President. I would like to once again express my gratitude for the invitation and the warm reception accorded to me and my delegation. I would also like to thank you for your warm words and for the honorary doctorate from the Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia. This is a historic symbol that unites our peoples. And I would also like to thank you for the support you have provided to the DRC over the years in helping us overcome the difficulties we have faced since 1961. I would like to reaffirm that the DRC hopes to diversify our relations in a spirit of sovereignty and alignment of our approaches. I would like our countries to expand cooperation in the sphere of investments. After the first day of the Russia–Africa Forum, you invited me to tour the exhibition. It was devoted to the opportunities emerging in the energy sector and other areas that might be of interest to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These include, for example, the processing of our natural resources, agriculture and digitalisation. In the sphere of digitalisation, we took a particular interest in the tax collection system. The Democratic Republic of the Congo strives to diversify its economy, and we would like to do so primarily through agriculture. I noted that there are many opportunities in this domain that are of great interest and through which we could revitalise our partnership with the Russian Federation. We truly need peace to translate all this into reality. For nearly 30 years now, the DRC has endured the horrors of war in the east of our country. We would therefore like Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to help us achieve this peace. The Washington and Doha processes were launched, but, unfortunately, they have yielded no concrete results. Take Resolution 2773, which was adopted, yet remains unimplemented in practice. I would therefore like to emphasise that this resolution requires the withdrawal of Rwandan military personnel who are illegally occupying the east of the DRC, the cessation of hostilities, respect for territorial integrity, and the restoration of the rule of law in our country. Nothing has been done, and we hope that, thanks to our relations with Russia, which we would like to intensify, we will be able to count on your support in this matter. Furthermore, I would like to note that on December 20, the mandate of the MONUSCO mission (United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) will expire. We hope that it will be renewed. We also hope for Russia’s support in backing the initiative to extend the mission’s mandate. We would like to reaffirm that the extension of this mandate must be approved within the framework of the UN. Finally, I would like to propose a bilateral roadmap to you, a roadmap based on three pillars: economic cooperation, Russia’s support for peace efforts, and diplomatic coordination of our efforts.