KENYA - DRC BILATERAL RELATIONS
Kenya and DR Congo signed five framework cooperation agreements listed below, covering several economic sectors, security, defence and maritime transport etc
1. General Cooperation Agreement
1. General Cooperation Agreement
2. Bilateral Cooperation Security Agreement
3. Agreement on Defence Cooperation
4. Maritime Agreement
5. MOU between Kenya Airways and Congo Airways
Security and defence bilateral agreements were also signed separately to provide mechanisms for cooperation between Kenya and DR Congo in areas such as counterterrorism, immigration, cyber security, and customs and border control.The signed revitalized agreement on maritime freight is aimed at repositioning the port of Mombasa as DR Congo's main gateway which will streamline the handling of the country's transit cargo.In a joint press address with his Congolese counterpart after witnessing the signing of the agreements, President Kenyatta stated that the new pacts signified evidence of strong bilateral ties between the two sister nations. The President pointed out that relations between the two countries have been cordial over many decades with continuous profound engagement especially since President Felix Tshesekedi ascended to power. This has been evident in the areas of trade, security and multilateral platforms..
Among the pacts, signed on the second day of President Kenyatta's visit was the General Cooperation Agreement (GCA), which provides a framework for joint promotion of economic, technical, scientific and socio-cultural programmes. It was further agreed for the effective implementation of this Agreement, a Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) between the two countries should be established.
The social- economic sectors targeted by the broad framework are trade, agriculture, banking, insurance, mining, industry, education, health, culture and arts, environment and tourism. Others are environment, SME's, youth and sports, housing, energy, ICT, finance and investment and infrastructure development, security and defence.