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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN TRADE AND INDUSTRY; TECHNICAL MEETING WITH FEC/HAUT-KATANGA ON IMPROVING THE BUSINESS CLIMATE AND MODERNIZING INFRASTRUCTURES TO FACILITATE TRADE

Consolidation of the partnership between the Congolese Government and the Fédération des Entreprises du Congo-FEC with the establishment now of a permanent dialogue, 24 hours after the descent to the Kasumbalesa border post in the province of Haut-Katanga, on the border with Zambia, the first entry into the country with the passage of 1,000 trucks per day, the Minister of Foreign Trade, Julien Paluku Kahongya and his colleague from Industry, Entrepreneurship and SME Development, Justin Kalumba exchanged this Wednesday, July 8, 2026 in Lubumbashi with the Federation of Enterprises of Congo-FEC/Haut-Katanga, headed by Patrick Muland Kabey, who submitted to the Government the requests of economic operators in the region.
On behalf of the Congolese State, the Minister of Foreign Trade, Julien Paluku Kahongya reassured the economic operators of Haut-Katanga that the Government's action will be based around 7 major axes including the harmonization of the electronic seal procedure, the legal clarification of the process of dematerialization of the Import-Export Number by a regulatory act, the intensive awareness of economic operators on the Simplified Commercial Regime-RECOS for original products, a regime which grants several facilities to small cross-border traders and populations living along borders, the drastic reduction in processing times for exemption requests, the definitive elimination of redundant administrative interference, the decentralization of certain decisions to guarantee maximum speed and the creation of a digital platform to perpetuate interactive dialogue.

During this meeting in which the Provincial Minister of Economy, Commerce and Transport, Georges Babunyi Mbau and the Director General of the Congolese Control Office-OCC, Pierre Lohohola took part; The Minister of Foreign Trade called on economic operators in the greater Katanga area to seize the business opportunities offered by the Chinese, British, Emirati and American markets with the renewal of AGOA and the African Continental Free Trade Area-ZLECAF conquered by the Congolese Government, but also, to work together with the OCC within the framework of respecting sanitary and phytosanitary standards, to thus gain access to their products on the international market, he insisted.

Regarding infrastructure to facilitate trade, Julien Paluku Kahongya announced the upcoming construction of the Kasumbalesa one-stop border post with the support of DP Word and the World Bank and the modern dry port.

The Interim Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and SME Development, Justin Kalumba Mwana, for his part, invited the FEC to work to protect local industry.
This sealed performance pact was highly praised by the President of the FEC/Haut-Katanga.