India Extends Congratulatory Message on DRC’s Independence Day

On the occasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Independence Day, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar sent a message through the diplomatic channel. In the note, India expressed the wish to deepen cooperation with the DRC.

Jaishankar recalled the commissioning of the 10.5-MW Kakobola Hydropower Plant (#HPP). The HPP expanded #EletricityAccess to surrounding communities in the Kwilu province thanks to clean and sustainable energy. It is part of India’s foreign policy to focus on small projects with high-impact on the local community, which can transform people’s lives.

During the Ebola outbreak, India delivered a first batch of emergency medical supplies through coordination with the African Center for Disease Control (CDC). The gesture highlights the ‘proactive humanitarian approach of India’ to address Africa’s health crisis.

India and the DRC have initiated discussions at the defense level with a view to foster cooperation. The discussions set the stage for training, defence equipment supply and manufacturing, and other joint military ventures.

India is also in talks with the DRC to secure supplies of copper and cobalt. India has proposed to send a team of geologists to the DRC and Zambia to uncover new mines in these mineral-rich countries. The race for #CriticalMinerals has heated up with the acceleration of the Energy Transition and the weaponization of Rare Earths.