"There is a whole range of potential areas for investment from Russia: the energy sector and the mining industry, agriculture, tourism, fishing," the ambassador said, adding that Russian companies are still at the stage of considering possible projects for investment.
According to the diplomat, for a long time, cooperation between Russia and the DR Congo was based on the military-technical sphere. Ngimbi noted that there are other sectors where Kinshasa and Moscow should build cooperation, such as technology, healthcare, water use, and engineering.
“Russia has something to offer African countries. We are slowly discovering these areas for ourselves,” the ambassador said.
The Congolese envoy explained that the two nations have long-standing relations, but they mainly extend in the political sphere, and there is a big lag in terms of economic cooperation.
“We are trying to fix this, not only to compensate for the lag in the economy, but also to extend cooperation to other areas,” he stressed.
Ngimbi pointed out that if a Russian company wants to invest in agriculture in the DRC, the country’s government will be “open” to assist in defining the stages together in order to start doing business.
The diplomat added that there are specific projects in the Congo where Russian companies could invest.
“For example, a project for the development of our 145 regions - in each of them we need to build roads, schools, water supply and solve other administrative issues. This may interest Russian investors, and you can imagine how extensive this program could be,” he said. “Russian companies are still considering possible projects for investment.”
Ambassador Ngimbi confirmed that the DR Congo intends to take part in both the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) and the Russia-Africa Summit that are set to take place in St. Petersburg in June and July of this year, respectively.