Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have committed to strengthening bilateral trade ties.
In a meeting, which took place in the eastern DRC town of Bukavu, between François Kanimba, the Minister for Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs, and Aimé Boji Sangara Bamanyirwe, DR Congo’s Minister for Commerce, the two ministers committed to instruct relevant institutions to refrain from creating tariffs and non-tariff barriers for trade between the two countries.
In an interview with The New Times, on Monday Kanimba said that the momentum was looking good, as the two countries aimed to further boost cross-border trade and empower hundreds of small-scale cross-border traders on both sides.
“We are enhancing trade and the Congolese are very friendly and want to improve the trade relationship,” said Kanimba.
The statement indicated that the Congolese minister was adamant that no other institutions should introduce trade barriers on the Congolese side without due consultations.
Such decisions, he noted, should only be taken by the central government in Kinshasa.
An action plan to implement the decisions and trade facilitation between the two countries was adopted and approved by the two ministers.
Kanimba said: “We put in place a joint committee that will meet regularly and discuss progress. By end of June we must have agreed on the action plan to start being implemented by our customs officials.”
While it is noted that the ministerial committee will meet twice a year to evaluate the progress, another specialised committee at the borders – which should meet at least four times and report on progress – was created to jointly implement related decisions, local media reported.
According to figures from the ministry, in 2015, trade between Rwanda and DRC amounted to over $164 million. Between 2014 and 2015, formal trade between the two countries increased by 15%.
