The Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) business summit has kicked off today (Monday) in Kinshasa, with government officials expecting the summit to be a spring-board to propel trade relations between the two East African countries. 

The Ugandan delegation to the first-ever Uganda-DRC business summit is led by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga. 

Kadaga’s team, which includes private sector players and business people, arrived in Kinshasa over the weekend.  

Kadaga and her delegation were hosted by Dr Edith Nsubuga Namutebi, the counsellor and accounting officer at the Ugandan embassy in Kinshasa-DRC. 

According to Government officials, Uganda’s trade with DRC has progressed over the years, with Ugandan exports to DRC amounting to $338m. 

The summit, Government officials said, is one of the mechanisms to strengthen trade relations, bring closer business communities between the two countries and tap into the opportunities that the recent admission of DRC into the East African Community (EAC) offers. 

In March this year, the Heads of State from the East African Community (EAC) officially admitted DRC into the regional bloc, bringing the number of member states to seven—Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and DRC.  

The admission of DRC into the regional bloc pushed the population of the community to about 300 million people; a number that trade experts say directly boosts the regional market.

Last year, President Yoweri Museveni and his DRC counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi met at Mpondwe border point and commissioned the construction of 223kms of roads to connect the two countries 

According to Museveni, the roads, Nebbi-Goli-Bunia, Buni-Bogoro-Kasenyi and Rwebisengo-Budiba-Buguma-Nyiyapandam and the Budiaba Bridge across River Semuliki, signify the true spirit of East Africa. 

“I am very happy for His Excellency Felix who brought DRC in the East African Community. Now, you cannot talk about East Africa without talking about DRC,” Museveni said, during the launch of the road projects.  

According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Uganda exports mostly animal, vegetable fats and oils and cleavage products to DR Congo. Other exports are sunflower seed, cotton-seed oil, fast consumer goods and smoked fish, especially to eastern DR Congo, accounting for $267.19 million in 2021.