Democratic Republic of Congo – Visit by Jean-Yves Le Drian (8-9 Jun. 2020)

On June 8 and 9, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian will be visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, and the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense, Philippe Goffin.

This joint visit is in conjunction with the establishment of a humanitarian airlift between the EU and several African countries to support continued operations by humanitarian organizations and their participation in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic.

In Kinshasa, their visit includes a meeting with President Tshisekedi; participation in a meeting of the ministerial committee in charge of the Covid-19 response, chaired by the Prime Minister; a visit to the National Institute of Biomedical Research; and meetings with humanitarian and civil society actors. Minister Le Drian’s visit to a patient reception project set up by the French Red Cross with funding from the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs illustrates France’s support for the fight against epidemics in DRC and more generally, the implementation of President Macron’s initiative to support Africa in its response to Covid-19.

In Goma, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Janez Lenarčič will welcome one of the three incoming flights that are part of the European humanitarian airlift to DRC; they will be transporting a total of 40 tons of humanitarian cargo and nearly 100 NGO staffers.