Qatari firm Al Mansour Holding signed a $21bn investment deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Doha also mediates efforts to end the M23 conflict.
Al Mansour Holding, a Qatari investment company, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a letter of intent over the investment of $21bn (around QAR 76.4bn) in Kinshasa amid growing investments in the region.
The Congolese government announced the signing on Wednesday following a meeting between the company’s founder, Sheikh Mansour Al Thani, and the DRC’s Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka.
A Qatari official told AFP that Sheikh Mansour was visiting in his private capacity.
The targeted investment sectors included agriculture, mining, hydrocarbons, infrastructure, health, education, finance, cybersecurity, and environment among others.
The Congolese official also announced that eight memoranda of understanding are in the process of being finalised to accelerate operations in DRC.
The Qatari company’s intention to invest in DRC comes as it expands its investment portfolio in the region.
Last month, Al Mansour Holding pledged $70bn (around QAR 255bn) worth of investments in Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe during a 10-day tour.
Qatar’s efforts in DRC
Meanwhile, Qatar has been leading key diplomatic efforts to halt the violence in eastern DRC, which escalated when the M23 launched the deadly offensive in 2021.
Last week, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, said that negotiations between DRC and the M23 militia resumed in Doha to discuss a July agreement brokered by the Gulf state.
Signed on July 19 in Doha, the declaration of principles between the two sides had set August 18 as the deadline to reach a peace deal. However, the fighting continued in eastern DRC.
On Tuesday, DRC accused the M23 of forcibly recruiting young people to carry out activities in the country.
“The security situation is practically the same in terms of human rights violations. We continue, day by day, to record various violations of the rights of our fellow citizens who live in extremely difficult conditions, marked by insecurity,” Jacquemain Shabani, DRC’s Deputy Prime Minister, told the press in Kinshasa.
The United States, the United Nations and DRC have long accused the M23 of being backed by Rwanda – claims that Kigali repeatedly denied.
On March 18, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani gathered DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame at the Lusail Palace in the Gulf state.
The meeting marked the first face-to-face talks between the two presidents since the M23 rebels launched a deadly offensive in eastern DRC. The gathering of the leaders was also a key indicator of momentum in the negotiations.
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