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The Congolese authorities are now turning to the United Arab Emirates, a hub for the trafficking of this metal for the marketing of gold. Both countries have set up a company called Primera Gold DRC. This young structure will specialize in the export of gold from artisanal mining in the province of South Kivu. Primera Gold DRC presented Friday, January 13 in Kinshasa the first batch of gold which will be directly sold in Dubai. For Kinshasa, this is an opportunity to fight against the smuggling that feeds the conflicts in the eastern provinces of the DRC.
With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Patient Ligodi
For the Congolese authorities, this is a paradigm shift. Congo wants to control the traceability of this ore exploited by artisanal means in the east of the country and exported via Rwanda and Uganda.
The ceremony was an opportunity for Felix Tshisekedi to discuss the type of cooperation he had once offered to Paul Kagame. ” It is exactly this kind of partnership that I had sought with our neighbors to put an end to the traffic, this smuggling of our minerals and to be able to benefit our respective populations, by creating this value chain which will bring many benefits to our respective countries and peoples ».
He regrets, he says, not having been heard, since the cooperation protocol which should allow the Rwandan company Dither Ltd to refine the gold extracted by the Congolese company Sakima was suspended last year, at the initiative of President Félix Tshisekedi who accuses his Rwandan counterpart of supporting the M23. ” Some of our neighbors preferred to continue to take this path strewn with pitfalls and above all with the blood of our compatriots. ».
#RDC 13.01.2023|#CitéUA
The Head of State, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo took part, this Friday, in the marquee of the Cité de l’Union Africaine, in the first shipment of Congolese fair trade gold to the United Arab Emirates. pic.twitter.com/I3dB93Rv3U– DRC Presidency ???????? (@Presidence_RDC) January 13, 2023
The new company Primera Gold DRC hopes to export between 15 and 25 tons per year. It also wishes to extend collaboration with other major companies present in the DRC such as Sakima, Sokimo and Gécamines.
For the President of the Republic, this collaboration is proof that the DRC can work in partnership with everyone.
In the opinion of several experts, for the country to fully benefit from this experience, it will also be necessary to tackle other problems that plague the sector, such as corruption and impunity.