Private Sector Investment Conference (PSIC) for the Great Lakes region of Africa, 24 - 25 February 2016, Kinshasa, DRC

Dignitaires présents à la Conférence sur l’investissement du secteur privé, organisée à Kinshasa le 24 février 2016

24 Feb 2016

Private Sector Investment Conference (PSIC) for the Great Lakes region of Africa, 24 - 25 February 2016, Kinshasa, DRC

Kinshasa, 24 February 2016 - The Private Sector Investment Conference for the Great Lakes region kicked off this Wednesday in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa. Both the President Joseph Kabila and the United Nations Secretary-General attended the opening ceremony.

Later in the day, the Secretary-General held a press conference and spoke about his visit to Burundi and eastern DRC, as well as his participation in the Private Sector Investment Conference. Speaking specifically about the investment conference, Mr. Ban Ki-moon said: “This is a good initiative. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has made good socio-economic development progress. We can see it easily. At the same time, there have been concerns about security and peace issues in the Eastern part of the DRC. It was quite timely when leaders of this Great Lakes region adopted the Framework Agreement on Peace, Security and Cooperation for the DRC and the region. The DRC is known to have abundant natural resources, but it is also important to note that this is a country where they have highly educated and capable human resources. Therefore, inviting foreign direct investment to this country will be very important for the sustainable development of the region. That is why I came to participate in this.”