Thursday, November 23, 2023 in Brazzaville, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Ondaye, Congolese Minister of Economy and Finance, signed a loan agreement of 92 million Euros (or approximately 60 billion CFA francs) with the African Bank of Development (AfDB), represented by its Deputy Director General for Central Africa, Mr. Solomane Kone.

This Loan Agreement, approved on November 17, 2023 by the ADB Board of Directors, is intended to finance the Governance and Economic Diversification Support Program (PAGDE), in its Phase 1.

The Congolese Minister of Economy and Finance indicated that “this Program aims to strengthen the resilience of the Congolese economy, taking into account climatic shocks. It will, in particular, improve the efficiency and transparency of public investments; to strengthen the governance of public companies, particularly through the adoption of a new regulatory framework. This Program also aims to improve the business environment, by promoting the involvement of the private sector in the areas of production and distribution.”

He took the opportunity to express his gratitude to the ADB which “has always stood by the Congo, even in difficult times. This is the case, in particular, in December 2019, specified Jean-Baptiste Ondaye, when the ADB granted the Congo budgetary support in the amount of more than 120 billion CFA francs, having enabled the Government, at the start of year 2020, to meet its sovereign obligations of a social nature”.

As a reminder, the support from the ADB, from which the Congo benefits, follows the Economic and Financial Support Program that the Congo concluded with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in January 2022, under the Expanded Financial Facility. credit (FEC) for the three-year period 2022 - 2024.

Indeed, upon signing the Program with the IMF, the Congo initiated discussions with its multilateral and bilateral partners, in particular the World Bank (WB), the French Development Agency (AFD) and the ADB, so that these institutions are helping it to fill its budget deficit for a period of three years, and to implement a vast project of public finance reforms and diversification of its economy.

Mr. Jean-Baptiste Ondaye hoped that the Governance and Economic Diversification Support Program would see its deployment through to its second phase.

The Communication Unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance