Mr. Kobler and German Foreign Minister visit North-Kivu province

23 fév 2015

Mr. Kobler and German Foreign Minister visit North-Kivu province

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the DRC paid a few hours’ visit to Goma on 20 February. Martin Kobler was accompanied by the German Minister of Foreign Affairs. It is the first time for a German Minister of Foreign Affairs to visit the DRC since 1977.

Upon arriving at the capital city of the North-Kivu province, Franck Walter STEINMEIER officially handed to the Congolese Minister of Transports the rehabilitated runway of the International airport of Goma. During the hand-over ceremony, all the speakers highlighted the importance of the stabilization of the North-Kivu province as well as the need for ensuring air safety, economic recovery and tourism.

The Congolese Government will complete the work in the months ahead. It is worth recalling that the work done by the German NGO Agro Action Allemande lasted more than 3 years. The fund provided by the German Government is estimated at 17 million Euros.

Before flying to Kigali, the German Foreign Minister Franck Walter STEINMEIER visited the Kibati health center, at about 10 km North of Goma, in the territory of Nyiragongo. The construction work of this center was completed in May 2014; it has been receiving medicines from Johanniter, a German International Organization. The support is intended for more than 9 thousand returnees from Kibati who were internally displaced during the M23 occupation of a portion of their territory.