Kinshasa (of the special envoys) - The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, arrived on Saturday morning, in Kinshasa to witness the investiture of Felix Tshisekedi to a second term of five years, as head of state of the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC).
Felix Tshisekedi was reelected in the presidential election of December 20 and 21, with 73.34% of the votes, according to data from the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Of the general results, Tshisekedi was seconded by Mora Katumbi, former governor of Katanga (18.08%), Martin Fayulu, opposition leader (5.33%) and Adolphe Muzito (1.12%).
About 20 other candidates, including Denis Mukwege, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, did not reach 1% of the votes.
Felix Tshisekedi came to power in January 2019 by beating the elections of December 30, 2018, succeeding Joseph Kabila.
The 2018 election is considered historical because it was the first time in the country's history, regardless of Belgium since 1960, which occurred peaceful political transition through right and universal suffrage.
According to protocol authorities of the DRC, several heads of state and government or their representatives must witness the ceremony.
The United States of America and the European Union must send emissaries.
The Angolan statesman, as Cirgl President, has been paying special attention to issues related to political and military stability with initiatives for pacification of the East Region and to normalize relations with neighboring Rwanda.
He got the Democratic and Rwandan Congolese presidents, Paul Kagame, to solve a border litigation between Catuna and Gatuna.
João Lourenço measured in a tripartite summit between Angola, RDC and Rwanda, the adoption of an agreement for the pacification of the East of the RDC, known as the Luanda script.
The Angolan head of state chairs the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL), which the DRC is a member.
Both countries are also members of the development communities of Austral (SADC) and economic Africa of Central African states (CEEAC).
With Angola, the DRC borders the south and west in a length of about two thousand 500 kilometers.
The neighboring country has a way out of the Atlantic Ocean between the Angolan provinces of Cabinda and Zaire, and then also linked through the Benguela Railway.
Angola and the RDC share the oil exploration with the Zaire River mouth, and cooperate in the domains of defense and security,
Bilateral cooperation between Angola and the RDC has its legal framework based on the General Agreement of Economic, Scientific-Technical and Cultural Cooperation, signed on October 17, 1978, following the official visit to the then Zaíre, in Kinshasa, President António Augustine Neto.
Since then, diverse legal instruments and bilateral agreements have been signed that regulate relations and cooperation between two countries in different sectors, such as road, rail, aerial, maritime and fluvial transport, science and technology, commerce, among others.
Independent of Belgium since July 30, 1960, the RDC has an estimated population of 94,660,000 inhabitants, according to Banco Mundial, in 2022. Its gross domestic product (GDP) is calculated at 77.486 billion dollars and per capita at 843 USD. JFS/VIC/DOJ
