Last updated in October 2009
Political relations
Germany established diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 30 June 1960, immediately after the country gained independence. Since then, political relations have continued uninterrupted, though they repeatedly changed in nature following the watershed historical events of 1989/90. Since the end of the Congo Wars in 2002 and the beginning of the transition phase (2002-06), Germany has supported the country’s political and economic reconstruction process, together with its European partners and the international community. The 2006 presidential and parliamentary elections were secured by a contingent of the Federal Armed Forces, which provided some 800 troops, roughly half of the European EUFOR Mission force. Germany also assumed command of the mission. The Congolese President Joseph Kabila has visited Germany twice, in 2002 and 2004. Besides the political contacts at national state level, there are also ties at federal state and local government level as well as a wealth of non-governmental contacts and partnerships, particularly through humanitarian and church-affiliated organizations.
Development cooperation
Germany has been a development cooperation partner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for more than 35 years. The first intergovernmental negotiations between the two countries for more than 20 years were held in Kinshasa in December 2008. At these, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was awarded the status of a partner country. Three priority areas of cooperation were agreed on: management of natural resources (environment/forestry and mineral raw materials), water supply/sanitation and microfinance. Health care/AIDS/sexual violence and supporting disadvantaged young people are also important cross-sectoral concerns in cooperation. In addition, the so-called Peace Fund (Fonds pour la consolidation de la paix) was set up to ensure swift reconstruction of the Kinshasa Province and the crisis-racked eastern part of the country. For 2008/09, Germany pledged funds totalling EUR 82.2 million.
German development cooperation focuses on supporting reform efforts in the above-mentioned sectors and is also responsible for donor coordination in the water supply/sanitation and natural resources (environment/forestry) sectors. Important partners of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s state-run development cooperation are, for Technical Cooperation, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammanarbeit (GTZ) and, for Financial Cooperation, the Development Loan Corporation (KfW).
In addition, Germany provides humanitarian and development-oriented emergency and transitional aid on a substantial scale: EUR 13 million in 2008. These funds are mainly provided through German non-governmental organizations and church-affiliated institutions, but also through the GTZ.
Furthermore, substantial funding is also made available to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from special facilities for conflict management, crisis prevention and peace consolidation. Here, the Civil Peace Service (CPS) serves as an important instrument for conflict management in the east of the country and, supraregionally, in the Great Lakes region.
Economic relations
Economic relations between Germany and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are not particularly intensive. German imports from Congo (mainly copper) declined last year, while German exports to Congo (mainly motor vehicles, chemical products and machinery) grew by more than 23 per cent compared with the previous year, though they were at a very low level initially. Altogether, the Democratic Republic of the Congo records a marked balance of trade deficit, with German exports exceeding imports by approximately EUR 73.7 million. A number of German companies are active in Congo as investors in the forestry, medical/pharmaceutical, banking and logistics sectors. In addition, several major German mechanical engineering companies and consulting engineers have a presence in the country. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, German products are considered high-grade and valued for their quality and durability. The country is not a priority market for German consumer goods because of the population’s low purchasing power.
Cultural relations
In higher education, the Federal Republic of Germany awards postgraduate scholarships and hosts short-term and long-term lecturers on research visits. In addition, it helps improve working conditions at institutes of higher education and universities through individual donations of material and equipment as part of follow-on measures.
All bilateral support programmes in the media and arts sectors were suspended following the unrest in autumn 1991, as security problems made it impossible to provide proper project supervision. Decisions on their continuation are made on a case-to-case basis. This also applies to the scholarship programmes of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
The Goethe Institute in Kinshasa was forced to close following the unrest and subsequent looting in 1997. Since then, no other German cultural organizations have been active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The Federal Foreign Office does, however, promote individual cultural projects with Congolese partners and in some cases with the French Cultural Institute, too.
