President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo arrived in Beijing at 22:35 on Sunday to attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will be held in the Chinese capital from September 4 to 6.
Located in the heart of Africa, The DRC has a population of over 100 million, comprising more than 250 ethnic groups. Its capital is Kinshasa, and the official language is French.
The country is exceptionally rich in natural resources, including a wide range of non-ferrous metals, rare metals, and non-metallic minerals. Notably, its copper reserves represent 15 percent of the world's total, making the DRC a crucial production and supply base for copper and cobalt.
Additionally, the DRC is endowed with extensive forest resources, accounting for 47 percent of Africa's forested area.
China is the largest trading partner and the top source of investment for the DRC. In 2021, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop the Belt and Road Initiative.
President Tshisekedi was elected in January 2019 and re-elected in January 2024. In May 2023, he visited China on a state visit, during which the two heads of state announced the upgrade of their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
In the first half of 2024, bilateral trade between China and the DRC reached 12.34 billion U.S. dollars. Chinese companies in the DRC adhere to the principles of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, actively contributing to local communities to ensure that the benefits of China-Africa cooperation are genuinely felt by the local people.
The upcoming FOCAC summit's theme is "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future." Many African leaders, including Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairman of the African Union Commission, will lead delegations to the summit. UN Secretary-General António Guterres will attend as a special guest, and relevant international and regional organizations will participate as observers.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at the summit’s opening ceremony on September 5.
Following the 2006 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, and the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the upcoming summit will be another happy reunion for the friendly family of China and Africa. It will also be the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years.
President of DR Congo arrives in Beijing for FOCAC summit
President of DR Congo arrives in Beijing for FOCAC summit
An official from a United Nations (UN) humanitarian agency emphasized on Sunday that there is a long way to go to rebuild Gaza physically, mentally, and culturally after the conflict.
Georgios Petropoulos, head of the Sub-office in Gaza for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that reconstruction of Gazan society will take far more than erecting new buildings.
"It's a mathematical equation of time and money, as it usually is. But to rebuild a society and an economy and a culture, that takes a little bit longer, as we all know. And the rebuilding is not just the physical aspects of schools, hospitals, universities and and homes, but it's to rebuild and to plan for and to repair the damage that's going to be done to children that may be out of school for almost two years, to families that have been completely decimated, they had loved ones killed. An agricultural system which used to be lively, which is on its knees, fisheries that are destroyed, unemployment that is almost complete now, you know you have to understand that at this point we don't even have the ability to bring cash into Gaza. So whatever you have can't really move around in the market," he said.
"Thousands of children will not be able to rebuild their lives because they don't have any legs or arms. They've been blown off there. They're the most significant and tragic victims of this war," the UN official added.
Although the UN is working on an early recovery plan, a ceasefire -- which is essential for Gaza's reconstruction -- must first be achieved, Petropoulos said.
"So rebuilding Gaza, I think, is an easy question with a very complicated answer. I can tell you that the United Nations and partners, as we do, are already working with donors in member states on an early recovery plan and the development process. But that's all going to have to be in the air until we understand exactly what the intentions and the political will is around not just a ceasefire, but stopping the daily tragedy of the people in Gaza and seeing how long it's going to take for them to stop being under fire, and how long it's going to take for the hostages to be sent back to their families. They have now also spent a year waiting with no word for hundreds of people that should be in the safe arms of their family," he said.
"So until those two things come to play, we're not going to have an answer of how long it's going to take to rebuild Gaza. And I think the last thing that I'll say on that is that my hope, and our hope is that whatever that rebuilding takes, the planning includes the people of Gaza -- how they want to see their land look and how they want it to be run, and what they want their future to look like," Petropoulos continued.
Long way to go to rebuild society Gaza after conflict: UN official
Long way to go to rebuild society Gaza after conflict: UN official
