Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week agreed to work together in the development of the two countries. In a joint communiqué issued after an inaugural session of the joint permanent commission on cooperation in Kinshasa, the two governments said they noted the great potential of cooperating in economic issues and agreed to intensify collaborative efforts to strengthen business links. “In this regard, the two sides expressed the need to establish a Joint Trade Committee to facilitate trade and investment between the two countries,” the communiqué said.

In the area of public administration, the Congolese side, in particular, requested cooperation in the combating corruption and maladministration, as well as the promotion of good governance.
The communiqué said the two sides agreed that institutions in the two countries involved in combating corruption and the promotion of professional and ethical behaviour, namely, the Namibian Anti-Corruption and the Office of the Ombudsman and the DRC Commission on Code of Ethics and Professional Behaviour (Observatoire Du Code Ethique Proffessionelle) would exchange information, expertise and experiences.
In the fisheries sector, the two countries emphasized many possibilities for fruitful cooperation such as farming, research exchange and trade, the communiqué said.
In the area of transportation, emphasis was placed on the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lumbumbashi operalisation of the Corridor in order to facilitate trade, tourism and other mutually beneficial economic exchanges.
On mining, the two sides agreed to implement the action plan on the MOU on cooperation in the fields of mineral exploration, mining processing, value addition and mineral resources signed in July 2004.