Kinshasa, April 15th, 2025(CPA)- A list of 6439 products from the Democratic Republic of Congo has been deposited with the African Continental Free Trade Area (ZLECAF) to be traded, the Minister of Foreign Trade said on Tuesday in Kinshasa, during the 16th meeting of the Council of Members of this continental economic organization. “The Democratic Republic of Congo has already submitted a list of 6,439 products to the African Continental Free Trade Zone for trade,” said Julien Paluku, Minister of Foreign Trade. Among these products, the country has selected 209 that will not be subject to tariff dismantling, emphasizing that the remaining 97% of Congolese products will circulate freely within Africa, i.e., they will not pay customs duties. For Julien Paluku, the advantage is that economic operators are challenged to build an economic ecosystem to win the market. “When products start to circulate freely on the African continent without paying customs fees, the economic operator who seizes the opportunity will find a market to seize,” he assures us. Minister Paluku emphasized that economic operators, including the government, must also do their part, i.e. build infrastructure. To this end, he referred to the various instruments in place, namely the strategic economic development plan, the master industrialization plan, the agricultural transformation plan and national export promotion strategy, and the national road infrastructure plan. These plans, he explained, have been put in place by the government to prepare the Democratic Republic of the Congo to integrate African markets, because without infrastructure, energy, roads and railroads, nothing can succeed.
Africa has a market of 1.4 billion consumers
Minister Paluku also pointed out that Africa has a market of 1.4 billion consumers. This means that the continent can dispense with other markets around the world and consume only African products. “Our products can’t suffer from consumption problems, because it’s Africans who are going to consume their products amongst themselves”, he assures us. Julien Paluku also took the opportunity to condemn in the strongest possible terms Rwandan aggression and the systematic plundering of Congolese minerals, which has a negative impact on African integration. The meeting brings together 54 trade ministers, senior officials and ZLECAF experts. ACP/