Discloses Ambassador Atoki of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Seoul
By Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik with Vice Chairpersons Choe Nam-suk, Joy Cho
Many people who know Africa all but unanimously will say that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a very special country in the region of the world.
And this view was shared by Ambassador Ileka Atoki whom The Korea Post media interviewed at the Embassy of the DRC near the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul on June 20, 2023.
These days economic cooperation between the countries of the world is considered to be very important the Republic of Korea (south) and the Democratic Republic of Congo are no exception, if not even more so.
Ambassador Atoki appeared to be very well aware of this and said, “The DRC is a giant in the heart of Africa with a vast territory equivalent to more than eleven times the Korean Peninsula.”
Then he said, “My country is rich in mineral resources, such as, Copper, Tin, Cobalt, Coltan, Lithium or Diamond, just to name a few.”
Details of the interview conducted by this writer (the publisher-chairman of The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language news publications since 1958), follow:
Question: Our hearty gratitude for this precious opportunity for our interview with Your Excellency, the Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Congo. Nowadays, economic cooperation between the countries is very important and we will first ask the status of economic cooperation between the two countries.
Answer: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has enormous potential in water resources. The Grand Inga Dam is a hydroelectric project which can supply and boost the energy available not only to Africa, but also well beyond the Continent.
The DRC is home to the world’s largest tropical forest after the Amazon. We are talking about a forest covering 286 million hectares. It is an incredible reserve of biodiversity, with over 400 species of mammals, 1.000 species of birds, and 10.000 species of plants.
It is also a huge carbon sink (10%) of CO2 captured by the world’s plants, as well as a vital source of food for more than 60 million people. It has a very low rate of deforestation compared to the other basins.
If well managed it could be very important for wood trade and agriculture, as I mentioned earlier.
The DRC sees Korea as an unwavering partner for its development. There is a need for our respective business communities to discuss various business opportunities in both countries.
That should be the way forward. It is important that agencies like KOTRA, ANAPI or FEC identify the areas for cooperation or collaboration between themselves, on one hand, and our respective Governments on the other hand, for the enhancement of our bilateral relations in various sectors.
There are many opportunities in sectors like those of new technologies, maritime, automotive industries, and so forth.
The level of trade relations between our two countries can be much improved.
There is a strong prospect to that end with regard to new investments in sight and hopefully with the opening in the DRC of the Office of the Economic Representation "KOTRA" in the DRC and whose mission is to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.
The Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has therefore a major role to play in convening and organizing such meetings either in Korea, or in the DRC.
The DRC is eager to attract more Korean entrepreneurs, including the largest Korean companies, like SAMSUNG, LG, HYNDAI, SK, KIA, etc...., which can participate in the development of its economy.
I would be if I did not mention the prominent interventions of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in DRC in the field of Education (scholarships), Culture (construction of the National Museum of DRC) or sanitation (Water treatment plant in Lemba-Imbu), just to mention a very few. KOICA interventions, with their direct impacts in the living and well-being of the population, is well appreciated by the Congolese people.
Q: Incidentally, the DPC celebrates her National Day at the end of this month (June 30th) and we offer our sincere, hearty congratulations! Please introduce this auspicious day.
A: The National Day of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the 30th of June 1960. This important day in the History of my Country is the result of multiple factors.
In the early 20th Century, there was an intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium opposing the violence of the “Free state of the Congo”, private property of King Leopold II, against indigenous Congolese which ultimately resulted in Belgium taking official control and create the “Belgian Congo.”
Protestants churches and local churches like the followers of “Simon Kimbangu” were also on the forefront of this pressure seeking for more freedom and a better life for Congolese.
Just after the second world war, the Country began to witness a steady rise of the political awareness of the Congolese people, which began with Congolese soldiers from the Force Publique returning from the war front where, with the allies of all color and origin, they had defeated a white supremacist, and new political movements or parties were created.
The largest of those, the “Movement National Congolais (MNC) dedicated itself to achieving independence “within a reasonable time”.
In Leopoldville, now Kinshasa, the Capital of the DRC, major riots broke out. On January 04th 1959, after a political demonstration which turned violent, the Force Publique used force against the rioters. The total number of casualties will never be known for certainty.
From that point on, demonstrations, riots and civil disobedience became regular occurrences with Congolese beginning to demand independence. Blacks and whites became increasingly radicalized.
It is in this context, that the Belgian Government convene in 1960 two Round Table Conferences with Congolese political stakeholders. The first Round Table was political and the second, an economic one. It is at the first Conference that, among other decisions, the 30th of June 1960 was set as the date of the in dependence of the Country.
Q: Please introduce the status of the bilateral trade between the two countries, including the prospects of further growth in the next 12 months.
A: I have not seen yet the complete figures for 2022. But what we can say for sure is that in 2021, the DRC exported 822 million USD to the Republic of Korea (Korea). The main products were Refined Copper (777 million), Cobalt (24.4 million), and Cobalt oxides and hydroxides for (9.98 million). During the last 26 years the exports of DRC to Korea have increased at an annualized rate of 21.5%, from $5.21M in 1995 to $822M in 2021. To my knowledge, that year, the DRC did not export any services to Korea.
During the same period, Korea exported 68.7 million to the DRC. The main products exported from Korea were cars (22.6Million), vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins, and cultures (16.2 million), and propylene polymers (6.84 million). During the last 26 years the exports of Korea to the DRC have increased at an annualized rate of 6.81%, from 12.4 million in 1995 to 68.7 million in 2021.
That trend should normally be reflected in 2022, 2023 and figures. Indeed, Korea and the DRC, despite being physically far apart, have much in common, including experiencing a much painful history of colonization.
Korea can intensify its collaboration with the DRC in order to consolidate cooperation, sharing experiences and promoting trade. There is a great deal of potential to be exploited, and there is a genuine interest for both nations in continuing to bolster their economy and trade to the benefit of their respective government and people. The economic stakeholders of the two states must accompany their governments to foster economic cooperation between the two countries, which is already fruitful.
Our sincere hope is that, in the near future, these figures will multiply and that the
sectors of exchange will diversify, for example, be extended to agriculture. It is
already very encouraging to note that Korea is among the top four destinations for
Congolese exports.
Q: What are the tourist attractions of the DRC? The Korea people, especially the well-to-do business people favor good tourist attractions. Please introduce the attractive tourist destinations in the DRC.
A: Our country has been blessed by nature. The DRC offers a large and varied range of tourist attractions through different provinces that have multifaceted particularities that can be exploited for the development of several types of tourism (seaside, cultural, leisure, discovery, business, safaris, etc...)
These are among others:
- 12% of the national territory are protected areas.
- 7 National Parks and 57 Reserves and Hunting Areas, including five on the UESCO World Heritage List (VIRUNGA, KAHUZI BIEGA, GARAMBA SALONGA and the OKAPI WILDLIFE RESERVE);
- Endemic species: Mountain gorilla, Okapi, Bonobo (dwarf chimpanzee), Congolese peacock.
- A variety of ecosystems covering nearly 145 million hectares, the second largest tropical forest basin in the world after the Amazon and one of the planet's biodiversity reserves.
- Natural sites ((the Congo River, the Atlantic coast [37 km], the impressive falls, the lakes and their contours, the mountainous areas of the East);
- Heritage monuments, religious buildings; and cultural (a rich mix of cultures and traditions around 450 ethnic groups), art markets, historical sites.
- More than 90,000,000 inhabitants, the Congolese population is a privileged target of tourism promoters, especially young people in search of leisure.
- Reception facilities: 284 airport hubs including 5 international airports, 349 travel agencies divided into three categories including those affiliated to IATA and other local; 3,235 unclassified and classified hotels with a total installed capacity of 27,963 rooms; 4,500 km of waterways.
- Several services to support the deployment of tourism activities, including transport, travel agencies, accommodation, and catering. The parks to visit are among others:
- Reserve of Epulu (Okapi);
- Garamba National Park (White rhinoceros, giraffe, elephant, buffalo, etc....).
- Kindelungu National Park (Giraffes, cheetah, zebra, roan antelope, Cape elk,
etc.…);
- Upemba National Park (Zebra, Cape elk, hartebeest, elephant, buffalo, etc.…);
- Maïko National Park (Congolese peacock, okapi, mountain gorilla etc.…);
- Salonga National Park (Elephant, dwarf chimpanzee, lion, leopard, etc.…).
- Virunga National Park (Lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, antelope,
hippopotamus, mountain gorilla etc.…);
- Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Mountain gorilla, bonobo, etc...)
Q: Please introduce Your Excellency in detail as the new of the DRC in Korea.
A: My main mission as set forth by His Excellency Felix-Antoine TSHISEKEDI
TSHILOMBO, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is to work
tirelessly, not only to maintaining and improving the excellent diplomatic and
political relations which fortunately already exist between the DRC and Korea, but
also, to fostering a mutual beneficial cooperation to the advantage of our respective
people.
His Excellency the President came also to the conclusion that much was still needed
to achieve on the economic front and that the DRC should come forward with a more
holistic and viable approach in dealing with Korea.
First, we needed a new narrative on the DRC. It is essential that we leave behind the negative narrative where some of our neighboring countries, specifically, Rwanda and Uganda, are trying to confine us because of their aggression of the DRC. A narrative of war, genocide, strife, rape, illegal
exploitation of natural resources. That is not DRC.
The DRC is what we call a country-solution in regard to climate change.
The DRC is a land of many opportunities. We call upon the Korean business
community to come and invest massively in our country. One of my main goals
would be to help to create the proper environment conducive to attract Korea
investments. The Government of the Republic of Korea believes in the DRC.
Through KOICA, it has accomplished an excellent work. Our profound gratitude
to KOICA is a testament to our satisfaction with its precious interventions. But
ultimately, there is a genuine call to go beyond aid for development. In the fulness
of time, we do need a win-win business-oriented cooperation and collaboration.
Furthermore, As I often say since my arrival in Seoul, my current posting is serving
as an eye-opener about Korea and what makes it truly great. The DRC is eager to
both gain a glimpse into Korea’s glorious past, as well as to appreciate dearly the huge strides being made presently to ensure a similarly wonderful future for its
people.
We need a new common vision of our bilateral relations. I am adamant that
an official visit at the highest level is the adequate venue to lay down the grounds
of our new and renewed relations to the benefit of our countries and their people.
Q: Please elaborate on yourself more in detail, including the family members, as the new ambassador as our readers would wish to learn more about Your Excellency in detail.
A: My name is ILEKA ATOKI. I am the Ambassador of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo to the Republic of Korea. I am a career diplomat
having presented my credentials to His Excellency President YOON Suk Yeol
on May 12th, 2023.
Prior to my current assignment, I was respectively:
1. The Chief of Staff of the Minister of Minister for Foreign Affairs,
from April 2021 to July 2022.
2. The G-20 Sherpa of His Excellency Felix-Antoine TSHISEKEDI
TSHILOMBO, President of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, in his capacity as Chairman of the African Union, from
February 2021 to February 2022.
3. The Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, from September
2018 to February 2020.
4. The Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the
French Republic, from December 2011 to September 2018.
5. The Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo to the United Nations from May 2001 to December 2011.
My connections with Korea date from that period. When I was
appointed at the United Nations, I was immediately one the vice-presidents of the 56th Session of the General Assembly under the chairmanship of His Excellency HAN Seung-soo, who was at the time Korea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. His Chief of Staff was His Excellency BAN Ki-moon, who does not need to be introduced, and with whom I worked very closely during his first mandate as Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Also, I had various assignments as a diplomat or a political officer
with the United Nations system.
I graduated from the University of Louvain at Louvain-La-Neuve. I am married, a
blessed father and grandfather. My spouse and I are very happy to be and to serve in
Korea.
Publisher’s comment of Korean Foreign Ministry on Korea-Congo relations:
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, with a land area (11 times the size of the Korean Peninsula) and a population of nearly 100 million, and is located in the center of the continent.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Korea, Congo is a treasure trove of mineral resources, rich in the strategic mineral cobalt (60% of the world's supply), as well as copper, tin, diamonds, and more. The 4,700 kilometers of the Congo River feeds the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, and other neighboring countries, providing a wealth of water resources and rainforests.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has had a hard time in the past by political instability and poverty, including civil war in the eastern part of the country, but the Presidential election held in December 2018 is largely known to have marked the first peaceful regime change in the country's history.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1963, Korea has continued to promote bilateral relations and friendly cooperation on the international stage.
Bilateral trade between the two countries has increased significantly from around USD3 million in 2005 to USD919 million as of 2021. Korea has also contributed to the development of the DRC through various development assistance programs.
In particular, the construction of the Congo Museum, which began in 2012 and which opened in 2019, is a representative development cooperation project of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in the field of culture with a total amount of US$10.192 million from 1991-21, and is considered to contribute to the historical awareness and unity of the Congolese people.
The Republic of Korea will continue to build on its achievements and strive to further strengthen the friendly and cooperative relations between Korea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.