Kinshasa, September 17th, 2025 (CPA).- The 17th, meeting of the Council of Ministers of the AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area), held in the Arab Republic of Egypt, identified agriculture as one of five sectors for exploring various opportunities for private sector investment partnerships, according to a statement from DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) Ministry of Foreign Trade received by the CPA on Wednesday.
‘The forum explored various opportunities for private sector investment partnerships in Africa, focusing on five priority sectors, namely renewable energy, agriculture and rural development, connectivity, climate change and tourism, with the aim of achieving more inclusive economic growth in Africa by leveraging a dynamic private sector,’ has said the statement .
Julien Paluku Kahongya, Minister in charge of Foreign Trade, who represented the Democratic Republic of Congo, has said that this private sector forum is presented as a lever for development for the least developed countries on the African continent.
‘The Private Sector Forum is a lever for development for the least developed countries on the African continent,’ has emphasised the Congolese Minister in charge of Foreign Trade.
According to him, the public and private sectors must serve as mutual levers for the development of the African continent, avoiding pitched battles. To this end, he took the opportunity to meet with the General Secretary of the AfCFTA, Wamkene Mene, to discuss a request to reiterate the DRC’s bid to host the African private sector forum in Kinshasa and one of the AfCFTA’s specialised service offices, as well as DRC’s candidacies for various AfCFTA bodies and the successful organisation in Kinshasa last April of the 16th, meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Trade Ministers. CPA/