Kinshasa, September 10th, 2021 (CPA).- The President of the Republic, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo returned to Kinshasa on Thursday, from Ankara, Turkey where he had a tête-à-tête with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The exchanges between the two Heads of State focused on bilateral cooperation and relations between Turkey and Africa. They also expressed their common desire to boost trade between Ankara and Kinshasa, with the objective of reaching a trade volume of USD 250 million in the medium term.
This meeting, extended to ministers and businessmen from the two countries, resulted, it is reported, in the signing of three beneficial agreements for Turkey and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in particular in terms of investment protection, avoidance of double taxation, the fight against tax fraud and in matters of tourism.
« We discussed with President Felix Tshisekedi on the preparations for the 3rd summit of Turkey-Africa Partnership’ which he intends to hold with the African Union, a strategic partner », President Erdogan said.
A dinner shared by the two presidential couples closed the stay of the Congolese Head of State in Ankara, before flying to Istanbul where he granted, on Wednesday, a series of hearings to several potential Turkish businessmen investors and future economic partners of DRC.
These meetings are part of President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo’s concern to build win-win partnerships, create jobs and plan technology transfer.
Turkish entrepreneurs, from different business sectors including aviation, agribusiness, construction, mining and green energy, have said they are ready to invest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is noted.
The Head of State’s European tour began in Germany, where he met with Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the 4th edition of the « Compact with Africa » summit.
Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo participated in these meetings in his dual capacity as President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and current President of the African Union (AU).
He then went to Rome, Italy, where he exchanged, for more than an hour at the Quirinal (Italian presidential palace), with his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, around bilateral relations between Kinshasa and Rome. The two Heads of State, on this occasion, condemned the assassination, in eastern DRC, of the Italian ambassador, Luca Attanasio.
President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi took this opportunity to highlight the enormous potential of the African continent in terms of investments.
ACP /