Nairobi, 20 June 2018 – The Office of the United Nations Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) convened in Nairobi, Kenya, a consultative meeting with high-level representatives of the private sector to plan for the second edition of the Private Sector Investment Conference in Africa’s Great Lakes region. This conference is tentatively scheduled to be held in Rwanda by early 2019. The first edition of the Private Sector Investment Conference took place in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on 24-25 February 2016.

The two-day meeting brought together representatives from the Office of the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region and other UN entities, the ICGLR, as well as high-level participants from governments’ institutions and international companies operating in the region.

The main objectives of the meeting were to: (i) develop the parameters of a regional strategy to engage the private sector from all ICGLR member states in the run-up to the Private Sector Investment Conference; (ii) engage regional and international partners to find actionable steps in preparation of the upcoming Conference; and (iii) inform via a communiqué the member states on progress in the operationalization of the Private Sector Forum, and engage them about effective participation in the planning for the Conference.

The projected Private Sector Investment Conference will be designed to foster interaction, learning and ‘matchmaking’ of concrete investment opportunities. It will aim for some specific ‘announcements’ with regards to investments and trade deals.

On 31 January 2014, the heads of State of the signatory countries of the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework for the DRC and the region endorsed the initiative of the UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region to convene a Private Sector Investment Conference for the Great Lakes region of Africa. Subsequently, the Office of the UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region together with the ICGLR and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo organized the first edition of the Private Sector Investment Conference in Kinshasa, DRC.