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DRC–United Kingdom: 99% of Congolese products now admitted to the British market without customs duties (25 November 2025)
The Democratic Republic of Congo has taken a new step towards integration into international trade with the official launch of the preferential regime granted by the United Kingdom, allowing 99% of products ‘made in the DRC’, including cocoa, coffee and spices, to enter the British market without paying customs duties.
The ceremony was held on Tuesday in Kinshasa, chaired by the Minister of Foreign Trade, Julien Paluku Kahongya, alongside the UK Ambassador to the DRC, Alyson King.
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According to the Congolese government, this trade partnership is based on four main areas:
• trade facilitation, through the Trade Information Portal (PIC) and the digitisation of procedures;
• capacity building for producers, SMEs and public administrations;
• improved access to global markets, with an emphasis on compliance with international standards;
• and the development of the country's agricultural and forestry potential.
Julien Paluku hailed a ‘winning bet’ for the DRC, emphasising that this preferential regime opens up new opportunities for Congolese producers, particularly in high value-added agricultural sectors.
For her part, Ambassador Alyson King stated that, through this initiative, the United Kingdom intends to support the DRC in consolidating its trade integration.
She also reiterated that trade between the DRC and neighbouring countries, citing Rwanda in particular, must be ‘legitimate and legal’.
The event also served as a backdrop for the launch of a programme to support Congolese trade with the International Trade Centre (ITC), TradeMark Africa (TMA) and the British Standards Institute (BSI), whose establishment in the DRC was requested by Minister Paluku.
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Source : DeskNews.Cd
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Norway Pledges $3 Billion to Help Save the Congo Basin Rainforest as New Global Funding Initiatives Launch
The world’s second-largest tropical rainforest may finally be getting the financial lifeline it desperately needs. At recent climate talks in Belém, Brazil, two groundbreaking funding initiatives were announced that could transform conservation efforts in Africa’s Congo Basin, with Norway leading the charge through a massive $3 billion commitment.
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The centerpiece is Brazil’s newly unveiled Tropical Forest Forever Fund (TFFF), which has secured an impressive $6.7 billion in total pledges. Norway’s substantial contribution represents nearly half of this funding, demonstrating the Scandinavian nation’s continued leadership in forest conservation finance. Alongside this major initiative, the Canopy Trust officially launched with $93 million already raised and an ambitious goal of mobilizing $1 billion by 2030. This innovative trust uses a blended finance approach, combining public and philanthropic money to attract private investment for sustainable forest enterprises in the Congo Basin.
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These new funding mechanisms arrive at a critical time for the Congo Basin, which has struggled with inconsistent financial support despite decades of conservation promises. While previous efforts like the Congo Basin Forest Fund (2008) and the Central African Forest Initiative have channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to the region, results have been mixed and funding often unreliable. The latest initiatives represent a more systematic approach to forest finance, offering hope for sustained, equitable funding that local communities and governments have long awaited. Success could provide a crucial model for protecting other threatened tropical forests worldwide while supporting local economic development.
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Source : EnviroLink