Kinshasa, 25 February 2016 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo hosted a two day inaugural Great Lakes Private Sector Investment Conference. The Conference was co-organized by the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region and the International Conference on the Great Lakes on 24-25 February 2016.

The regional investment conference, which was the first in the Great Lakes region of Africa brought together over 500 participants from the region and the world. The opening ceremony, presided by the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), H.E. Joseph Kabila Kabange, was attended the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon; the Vice Presidents of Angola and Burundi; the Prime Minister of Rwanda; Ministers and Ambassadors from the region; representatives of international organizations; the diplomatic corps; and investors as well as business leaders.