International donors promised 4 billion US dollar (godt 20 milliarder DKR) in funds for the DR Congo (former Zaire) between 2008 and 2010 at a meeting in Paris, three quarters of which was new money, the World Bank said in a statement on Friday.
Around 140 representatives from 15 different countries and international organizations attended the two-day conference to discuss funding for the former Belgian colony.
The statement also said the government hoped to benefit from debt relief under a program for poor countries administered by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and known as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC). The huge countrys debt stood at around 11,5 billion dollar at the end of last year.
At the opening of the meeting, the finance minister of the DR Congo, Athanase Matenda Kyelu confirmed the will of the Congolese government to work in a constructive partnership, stressing that it is a real partnership in which we could work together to restore peace and prosperity in his country.
– The most important thing is that this new donor support contributes to the improvement of living conditions of the poorest people, said Jean-Michel Happi, Resident Representative of the World Bank in the DR Congo.
The bilateral development partners were Belgium, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, USA, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as multilateral institutions.
