Al-Zeyoudi: The economic partnership agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo enhances the country’s economic presence in Africa
ABU DHABI, 3 February, 2017 (WAM) – His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, confirmed that the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UAE and the Democratic Republic of the Congo constitutes a new strategic milestone in the path of expanding the network of trade partnerships for the UAE and enhancing its economic presence on the African continent, especially in the Central African region, which has promising potential.
In statements to the Emirates News Agency, WAM, His Excellency said that the Democratic Republic of the Congo is an important partner for the UAE as it is one of the ten largest economies in Africa, with a gross domestic product of about $70.75 billion, with expectations of economic growth of up to 5.1% during the year 2025, exceeding the global average.
He pointed out that the agreement opens broad horizons for enhancing economic communication with a region rich in natural resources and seeks to accelerate the pace of its growth, by attracting qualitative direct foreign investments, pointing out that the agreement will support bilateral trade, especially in the sectors of precious stones, metals, mining and agriculture.
His Excellency explained that the Democratic Republic of the Congo occupies a pivotal position in global supply chains, as it is the world’s leading producer of cobalt with a ratio of more than 70% of global supplies, in addition to being the largest producer of copper in Africa, and a major source of other strategic minerals, including gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten, which are essential minerals for the industries of electric cars, electronics, and energy transformation technologies.
He added that the central geographical location of the Democratic Republic of the Congo bordering nine African countries gives it a competitive advantage as a strategic entry point to expand trade in Central and East Africa.
Regarding trade and investment, His Excellency explained that the value of non-oil trade exchange between the UAE and the Democratic Republic of the Congo reached $2.9 billion during the year 2025, achieving a growth of 16.1% compared to 2024, noting that the UAE’s most prominent exports include oil and its derivatives, paints, clothing, food products, final consumer goods, building materials, and others.
On the investment level, he pointed to a number of prominent strategic projects during the past five years, including the signing of a partnership agreement worth $1.9 billion in the mining sector in 2023, and the acquisition of Alphamin Resources by International Resources Holding in 2025, in addition to Emirati investments in copper and cobalt smelters and projects for shipping gold and artisanal metals.
His Excellency pointed to the pivotal role of the logistics services sector, pointing to the Dubai Ports World agreement to develop the Banana deep sea port with investments amounting to $1.2 billion, which is expected to begin operating in late 2026 or early 2027.
He stressed that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo contributes to supporting the UAE’s economic agenda, which aims to raise the value of foreign trade to 4 trillion dirhams by 2031, and double the value of exports during the same period by canceling or reducing customs duties, removing unnecessary trade barriers, opening markets to trade in services, promoting digital trade, and creating effective dispute settlement mechanisms.
He explained that the agreement will strengthen the UAE’s position as a global center for supply chains and a bridge linking the markets of the Arab world, Europe, Asia and Africa, while providing broad opportunities for service sectors including business, logistics, construction, engineering, healthcare, education, environment, finance, communications, tourism and travel.
Regarding small and medium-sized companies, His Excellency Dr. Al-Zeyoudi stressed that supporting this sector is a common priority, noting that the agreement will ease the trade restrictions facing the exports of these companies, and provide a platform for cooperation between support centers, business incubators, growth accelerators and emerging companies, which will contribute to enabling them to benefit from the opportunities provided by the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and enhance the exchange of data related to trade and relevant legislation and procedures.
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