The Republic of the Congo and Germany have maintained bilateral relations since the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in the early 1960s.

Given the country’s socialist leanings, ties with the German Democratic Republic were initially closer. A town twinning partnership was, for example, established between Brazzaville and Dresden in 1975 with 2025 thus marking the partnership’s 50th anniversary. A new honorary consul was appointed in the important port city of Pointe Noire in 2024.

Due to its OPEC membership and its comparatively high per capita income as a producer of oil and gas, the Republic of the Congo is not one of Germany’s partner countries for bilateral development cooperation. There has, however, been a GIZ project office in Brazzaville since 2023.

AAfter the Amazon, the Congo Basin is home to the world’s second-largest expanse of forest and peat bog forest, which are vital to the global climate. Germany therefore focuses its economic cooperation on the fields of climate action, rainforest and environmental protection, and biodiversity conservation. Working through organisations such as CAFI (Central African Forest Initiative), COMIFAC (Commission des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale) and the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, Germany’s aim is to protect the tropical rainforests and peat bog forests in the region. Since 2024, a forest partnership has furthermore been in place between the Republic of the Congo and the European Union as a Team Europe Initiative.

The Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the far north of the country receives financial support from the German Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) as part of the Sangha Trinational conservation project, a UNESCO project to preserve natural World Heritage. The Odzala National Park receives funding within the context of the Legacy Landscape Fund.

Economic relations between the Republic of the Congo and Germany have not yet developed to any great degree. The building of small hydroelectric power plants, afforestation and ecotourism are potentially promising sectors.