Kinshasa, October 12th, 2025 (CPA).- Beyond extending an olive branch to President Paul Kagame, President Félix Tshisekedi outlined his vision at the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, focusing on six key areas that will drive the rise of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa and sustainable solutions for our endangered planet. His message on Wednesday at this forum was part of a revolutionary vision that places the DRC in its former role as a driving force: a solution country for Africa at the heart of global balances. ‘With its unique hydroelectric potential, Grand Inga can become the foundation for carbon-free industrialization in Africa,’ President Tshisekedi said in his resounding speech. He was keen to highlight the benefits for communities and the global climate through his country, ‘located at the heart of one of the largest tropical forest complexes with the world’s largest protected area, covering 540,000 km2’, as well as ‘the most intact forests on the planet’.
Giving his country the major role of pivot of the continent’s connectivity, the Head of State elaborated on the Africa-Europe partnership based on mutual respect and shared responsibility.
In Brussels, the occasion was well suited for the President of the Republic, who remobilized international opinion on the three decades of aggression against the DRC by its Rwandan neighbor. This was a fitting choice of topic to highlight his leadership in contributing to regional and continental stability.
In this specific context, President Félix Tshisekedi’s much-publicized ‘outstretched hand’ to his counterpart Paul Kagame is nothing more than a manifestation of the Congolese government’s constant desire to work for peace in the region. This is despite Rwanda’s manipulation of the M23 and evidence of an ongoing genocide for economic reasons, looting and predation, dubbed Genocost by the Congolese to raise global awareness. ‘I have reached out (…) to call on the whole world to bear witness,’ said President Tshisekedi, addressing the Belgian diaspora on Saturday, according to a video released on Sunday by the Congolese Presidency. A pacifist, the Congolese President told world leaders in Brussels that this is not his first ‘outstretched hand’: his first term in 2019 was characterized at the outset by diplomacy of openness towards nine neighboring countries, particularly Uganda and Rwanda. ACP/