From 6th to 10th June 2016, a German delegation visited the town of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Fifteen companies from the mining supply sector took part in this market reconnaissance trip. They were accompanied by representatives from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA – German Engineering Federation) and the Centre of Excellence for Mining and Raw Materials at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK) in South Africa. The delegation was organised by trAIDe GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and is part of the BMWi market development programme for SMEs.
The itinerary included discussions with the Congolese Federation of Companies and Mining Chamber (FEC), a “Doing Business” workshop, an opportunity to visit DRC Mining Week, B2B talks, visits to the STL processing plant (Figure 1) and the Provincial Governor.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the key countries of the AHK Centre of Excellence for Mining and Raw Materials. The country’s potential is also evident based on the number of participants from overseas. As the official representative of the German economy in South Africa, the AHK continues to reinforce bilateral economic relationships and their activities especially in relation to expanding these new markets. (AHK South Africa/Si.)
