DRC - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: THE AGREEMENT OF RENEWAL AND GREATNESS Abu Dhabi 02-02-2026
The story of this strategic partnership takes root in 2021, during the participation of President Félix Tshisekedi in Expo Dubai 2020 (postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Two major commitments were born from this meeting:
●the construction of the Banana Port and
●the formalization of artisanal gold flows via the banking system.
From Vision to Realization: Record Results
These commitments were concretized by the signing of a Collaboration agreement with DP World for the deep water port of Banana and the creation of Primera Gold. The results speak for themselves:
●Infrastructure: The port of Banana is currently in the active construction phase.
●Mining sector: An unprecedented revolution. While the DRC officially exported between 5 and 10 kg of artisanal gold per year (with a historic peak of only 34 kg in 2020), Primera Gold transformed the situation.
Explosion in volumes: In just 45 days of activity, the company exported more gold than the DRC had officially done in the last 15 years.
2023: 5,000 kg exported.
2024: Between 7,000 and 9,000 kg, or an average of 800 kg per month thanks to the formalization of the sector.
The “Trilogy” of Félix Tshisekedi: For the Head of State, these successes are only a stage. Since 2019, it has deployed a strategy called the “Economic Trilogy”:
●Economic Diversification
●Market Diversification
●Diversification of Partners
It is this vision that gave birth to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a broad framework including trade in goods and services, electronic commerce, rules of origin and the promotion of private investment.
2030 objective
This February 2, 2026, a decisive step was taken. In the presence of two Heads of State His Highness MOHAMED BEN ZAYED AL NAHYANE and H.E Félix-Antoine TSHISEKEDI, the DRC and the United Arab Emirates signed the APEG, concretizing a common desire to break up mafia networks through transparency.
If trade volumes were estimated at 1.2 billion in 2020; 3.5 billion in 2023 and 4.5 billion in 2024, they are projected at 10 billion USD in 2030.
A list of 6,000 Congolese products eligible for trade has been established, opening up unprecedented economic prospects.
For the Congolese people, the social and economic benefits of this partnership are now a tangible reality.
It is up to everyone to make their economic choice because we, Dr THANI BIN AHMED AL ZEYOUDI and I, have signed THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (APEG) between the UAE and the DRC.
Julien PALUKU
