DRC and Zambia sign an agreement to facilitate cross-border trade transactions

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia have signed an agreement for the facilitation of commercial transactions at the common border of these two countries.

This agreement should notably enable the two countries to put an end to truck traffic jams by opening their borders to traffic 24 hours a day, to open the borders of Mokambo, Sakania, Kipushi and to apply SADEC trade resolutions, COMESA and the DRC-Zambia Joint Permanent Commission.

The signing of this agreement took place on Saturday June 11, 2022 between the Governor of Haut-Katanga, Jacques Kyabula Katwe, representative of the National Minister of Foreign Trade, Jean-Lucien Busa, and the Zambian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga.

Indeed, the two parties have identified the causes of congestion at the border, including non-compliance with opening hours and border closures, the insufficient capacity to accommodate trucks at the parking lot on the Zambian side. or the administrative slowness on the Congolese side where drivers wait between 7 and 10 days before being served.

The contractors expressed their feelings of satisfaction for this agreement aimed at smoothing the movement of people and goods between the two countries, before reaffirming the commitment of the Presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, and of his Zambian counterpart,
Hakainde Hichielema, to strengthen cooperation in order to work for the well-being of the Congolese and Zambian peoples.