The Embassy of the Republic of Congo in Cairo receives Eliezer Ntambui

Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:

Eliezer Ntambui, the Minister Delegate to the Ministry of National Defense for Veterans Affairs in Congo, paid a working visit to Cairo, during which he visited the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Congolese Embassy in Cairo receives the Minister Delegate

Jean-Baptiste Kasongo Musenga, Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo to Egypt, received the Minister Delegate, where Ntambui held talks with members of the diplomatic and administrative corps of the mission on the subject of his mission, stressing the importance of patriotism, unity and everyone’s commitment to the mission’s plan and the President’s vision for the country.

Congo scrutinizes mining export revenues and state assets

In another context, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, had earlier ordered a comprehensive audit of mining export revenues and state assets, warning that weak controls were preventing the country from fully benefiting from copper and cobalt exports. Congo is a major supplier of cobalt and copper, and also has huge reserves of lithium, gold and coltan, making it a battleground in the global competition to secure vital mineral supply chains.

The world's two largest economies attract

The Congolese government has signed separate mineral agreements with the United States and China, as the two superpowers seek to build up vital mineral stockpiles to help with the transition to clean energy and battery-powered electric vehicles.

The Central African nation exported about 3.4 million metric tons of copper in 2025, up from 3.1 million tons in 2024, while cobalt exports totaled about 220,000 tons. Congo shipped about 955,000 metric tons of copper between January and March 2026, down from about 1.09 million tons the previous year.

Losses due to weak oversight

Despite increased production, Chiskiede said the state is losing revenue due to weak oversight, opaque joint ventures involving state mining assets, failure to repatriate profits, and capital flight through fraudulent imports.

The president ordered a comprehensive audit within 30 days to identify unpaid revenues and shortcomings in the management of mining partnerships, according to the meeting minutes. The minutes did not specify the mechanisms and scope of the audits.

He instructed the authorities to fully link customs, port authorities, the central bank and commercial banks, stressing the need to track all exports and imports of minerals through a single traceable chain, while the minutes of the meeting stated that initial results would be presented by June 15.

Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world

Congo, one of the world's poorest countries, recently launched reforms in the mining sector with the aim of tightening government control over the sector to boost revenues.

The United States is investing $100 million to secure mining sites.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's mining inspection authority recently said it has created a paramilitary mining guard to secure mining sites and mineral supply chains, as the world's largest cobalt producer tries to curb smuggling and insecurity in the sector and boost investor confidence.

The General Authority for Mining Inspection said in a statement that the program will be funded with a budget of $100 million as part of strategic partnerships with the United States and the United Arab Emirates.