Embassy of India
Brazzaville
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Brief on India–Republic of Congo Relations

India and the Republic of Congo [ROC] enjoy warm and friendly relations dating back to the pre-independence era of the ROC. ROC has supported India’s candidature at various international forums. India opened its diplomatic Mission in Brazzaville, ROC, in November 2019. 

In February 2023, the Republic of Congo joined the International Solar Alliance by signing the @isolaralliance Framework Agreement through their Ambassador in New Delhi. 

Bilateral Visits/Meetings (including virtual)

From ROC to India

• 1983: H.E. Mr Denis Sassou N'guesso, President of the Republic attended the Non-Alignment Summit in New Delhi
• 1987: H.E. Mr Denis Sassou N'guesso, President of the Republic, in his capacity as Chairman of the African Union, visited India for the Creation of the African Fund
• October 2005: Mr Rodolphe Adada, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Commerce visited India.
• February-March 2007: Maj. Gen Jacques Yvon Ndolou, Defense Minister of the Republic of Congo visited India at the invitation of Raksha Mantri.
• July 2007: Mr Emile Ouosso, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation visited India at the invitation of Railway Minister. In his capacity as Chairman of the African Transport Ministers Group [53 countries], he mooted a proposal for holding a summit of African Transport Ministers in India
• March 2010: Mr Basile Ikouebe, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Congo participated in the 6th CII EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership held in New Delhi
• 27-29 March 2011: Mr Alain Akouala Atipault, Minister in the Presidency, in charge of Special Economic Zone participated in the 7th CII EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership held in New Delhi
• 2012: Ms. Claudine Munari, Minister of Trade and Mr Basile Ikouebe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Congo attended the 8th CII EXIM Bank Conclave in New Delhi.
• 2013: Ms. Claudine Munari, Minister of Trade, Mr Alain Akouala Atipault, Minister of Special Economic Zones and Mr Anatole C. Makosso, Minister of Youth Affairs and Head of the African Union Commission for Youth Affairs visited India to attend the 9th CII EXIM Bank Conclave in New Delhi.
• March 2014: Senior Minister of Industrial Development and Private Sector Promotion Mr Mvouba Isidore, Ms. Claudine Munari, Minister of Trade, Mr Alain Akouala Atipault, Minister of Special Economic Zones and Anatole Collinet Makosso, Minister of Youth visited India to attend 10th CII EXIM Bank Conclave in New Delhi.
• October 2015: Mr Jean Claude Gakosso, Minister of Foreign Affairs visited India to attend India-Africa Forum Summit
• September 2016: Ms. Jacqueline Lydia Mikolo, Minister of Health and Population visited India to attend the 12th CII EXIM Bank Conclave in New Delhi.
• March 2018: Mr Rodrigue Ngonimba, Minister of Construction, Urbanism and Housing visited India to attend the 13th CII EXIM Bank Conclave in New Delhi.
• January 2019: Thomas Nicephore Fylla De Saint Eudes, Minister of Technical and Vocational Education and Skills Training visited India to Attend Global Summit, Africa Day in Gujarat
• July 2022: Mr Emile Ouosso, Minister of Special Economic Zones and Economic Diversification visited India to attend the 17th CII EXIM Bank Conclave in New Delhi.
• October 2022: Mr Raymond Zephirin MBOULOU, Minister of Security and Public Order, Republic of Congo headed the ROC delegation for the 90th INTERPOL General Assembly Session held in New Delhi from 18-21 October 2022.
• January 2023: Mr Denis Christel Sassou N’Guesso, Minister of International Cooperation and Promotion of Public-Private Partnership participated in the 9th Session on G-20 (Foreign Minister’s Session on G-20) virtually on 13th January 2023 which EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar chaired as part of Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS), convened by India as Head of G-20.
• February 2023: Mr Charles Richard MONDJO, Minister of National Defence, Republic of Congo headed the ROC delegation for the conclave of Defence Ministers, 2023 Edition, held on the sidelines of AERO INDIA 2023, in Bengaluru, from February 12 – 16, 2023.
• June 2023: Mr Thomas Nicephore FYLLA SAINT-EUDES, Minister of Industrial Development and Promotion of the Private Sector and Mr Jean Jacques Bouya, Minister of State for Territory Planning, Infrastructure and Road Maintenance, Republic of Congo participated in the 18th CII Africa Conclave on India Africa Growth Partnership, held in New Delhi from 14 – 16 June, 2023.
• November 2023: Mr Emile OUOSSO, Minister of Energy and Hydraulics participated in the Energy Minister’s Session of the 2nd Voice of Global South Summit 2023 (VoGSS 2023) on 17th November 2023 by virtual mode.

From India to ROC

• July 2015: Shri Manoj Sinha, MoS Railways visited Brazzaville as Special Envoy of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to hand over an invitation to Mr Denis Sassou N’guesso, President of Republic of Congo for the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi.
• March 2017: Shri M.J. Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs visited Brazzaville on the first bilateral visit by any Indian Minister to ROC. MOS called on the President of the Republic of Congo and met the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Congolese Abroad.
• October 2023: Shri V. Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs, participated in the 2nd Three Basins Summit hosted by the Republic of Congo in October 2023.
• July 2024: Shri P. Kumar, OSE (ER & DPA), represented Smt. Droupadi Murmu, Hon’ble President of India, at the First International Conference on Afforestation and Reforestation (CIAR1) organized by RoC in Brazzaville from July 2-5, 2024.  OSD (ER&DPA) participated in the Ministerial Segment and the Summit of Heads of State and Government on July 4 and 5, respectively.

Agreements/MoUs

Signed:

• Agreement on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.
• A Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations

India’s Economic Assistance to ROC

Lines of Credit: The following Lines of Credit have been accorded to ROC: (i) US$ 70 million LOC for the Rural Electrification Project; (ii) LOC of US$ 89.9 million for the Development of an Urban Transportation System, in the capital city of Brazzaville and Pointe Noire; (iii) LOC of US$ 55 million for a Greenfield 600 TPD Rotary Kiln based Cement Plant Project.  {The LoCs at (i) and (ii) above have been closed.}

Grant/Assistance: (i) GOI donated medicines worth US$ 2,00,000 in 2010 to the Government of ROC; (ii) GOI donated US$ 500,000 as humanitarian assistance to ROC, in March 2012, in the aftermath of the ordnance depot blast, which claimed many lives; (iii) Tele-education, telemedicine and VVIP connectivity node were set up in Brazzaville under the Pan African e-Network Project; (iv) GOI donated US $ 100,000  as humanitarian assistance for flood relief to the ROC in March, 2020; (v) GOI donated more than 6 tonnes of medical aid to ROC in June 2020 to fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Capacity Building Programme

• Ten slots under ITEC have been allotted to ROC during 2024-25; and
• One ICCR scholarship has been offered to ROC for the year 2024-25.

Familiarization Visit of Journalists to India

Under such a familiarization visit, foreign media persons are invited to India to gain insights into the country's media landscape, developments taking place in India, its culture and bilateral relations. Two Congolese journalists were part of this  programme from 23-30 October 2024.  Their visit was fully sponsored by the Embassy.

Trade and Commerce

Trade between India and ROC: 

• Bilateral trade stood at USD 298.42 million during FY 2023-24; with export being USD 176.03 million and imports 122.39 USD million. The main items of export are rice, cereals, meat, pharmaceutical products, inorganic chemicals, vehicles and parts thereof, while imports are mainly petroleum oils & crude oils, which constituted more than 80% and metals. Bilateral trade figures (in USD millions) over the last few years are given below:

Bharti Airtel acquired Zain Communications Network, thereby telecom operations in the Republic of Congo in 2010.

Naming of Street in Brazzaville

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on 02 October 2023, a prominent street in Brazzaville was named Mahatma Gandhi Marg. The street is approximately 1 kilometer long.  The Embassy is working on placing a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the roundabout at the beginning of the street.

Cultural Activities

• All the important landmark dates and festivals are celebrated with vigour. Our Embassy in ROC organised several events to mark the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the 70th anniversary of the Constitution of India, Hindi Pakhwada, International Yoga Day, etc. The Mission also organized several activities under the framework of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) including the ‘Walk for Health’ event on 13th February 2022.
• International Yoga Days are celebrated with enthusiasm, featuring active participation from both the local community and the Indian diaspora.
• First time in the history of the Republic of Congo, a Gujarati Folk dance troupe KALAPATH SANSTHA from Bhavnagar (Gujarat), sponsored by ICCR, performed in Brazzaville on 28 January 2023. Their performance was wholeheartedly appreciated by members of the Diplomatic Corps, local Congolese and the members of the Indian diaspora. The Congo TV and the local print media ADIAC Congo covered the event. 

Indian Diaspora

There are approximately 1000 Indians based in the Republic of Congo, engaged mainly in the trade and service sector including supermarket chains, electronic stores, tours and travels, restaurants, trading, etc.

The Indian community in the capital city Brazzaville and port city Pointe Noire donated edible items including rice, wheat flour, cooking oil, sugar and cereals worth US$100,000 to local authorities in May 2020 to support vulnerable families affected from the pandemic COVID-19.

The Embassy in association with the Association of Indians in ROC organised a chartered flight on 10 July 2020 from Brazzaville to Mumbai under the Vande Bharat Mission of GOI to evacuate 145 stranded Indian nationals to India.

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04 February 2025