Kinshasa, July 23rd, 2026 (CPA). – The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, through the Ministry in charge of Foreign Trade, has called on Thursday in Abidjan, in Ivory Coast, for African countries and financial institutions to move beyond ‘theory’ and focus on developing the continent’s natural resources, in order to accelerate Africa’s effective industrialisation, according to a press release.
“Experts from the Ministry in charge of Foreign Trade and the Central Bank of Congo (BCC) have called on African countries and financial institutions, including the African Development Bank, to move from theory to action in developing the continent’s natural resources, through strategic minerals that play a major role in the energy transition,” it is read in the statement from the Ministry in charge of Foreign Trade. According to the source, the aim of this conference is to strengthen the African continent’s economic and industrial sovereignty through the local processing of natural resources and the development of regional value chains, as well as by boosting intra-African trade through the gradual removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers.
This forms part of the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (Zlecaf). On this occasion, Mr Jonathan Kasereka, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister in charge of Foreign Trade, quoted in the press release, has advocated for the construction and modernisation of infrastructure to facilitate intra-African trade. For his part, the Ivorian Minister in charge of the Economy, Finance and the Budget, Adama Coulibaly, has, for his part, called on African leaders and technical and financial partners to rise to the challenge of the continent’s effective industrialisation and intra-African trade, in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063. These proceedings are being organised from July 23rd to 24th, 2026, in Abidjan, in Ivory Coast, by the African Union as part of this ministerial segment. CPA/