The first quarterly meeting of the National Economic and Financial Committee (CNEF) of the Republic of Congo for 2025 was held on Friday, March 21, 2025, at the headquarters of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) in Brazzaville, both in person and via videoconference, under the chairmanship of Christian Yoka, Minister of Finance, Budget, and Public Portfolio.

Five items were on the agenda, including, under Item III, the Note on the national economic, monetary, and financial situation; the Note on the financing of the Congolese economy; and, under Item V, the Note on Congo's relations with International Financial Institutions (IFIs). The participants also examined the subregional and international economic situation.

Nationally, according to provisional data from the BEAC, economic growth in 2024 is expected to be 0.9%, compared to 1.9% in 2023, reflecting a slowdown in the oil sector, despite the strong performance of the non-oil sector. On the price front, the average annual inflation rate is expected to reach 3.1% in 2024, compared to 4.3% in 2023, following the gradual normalization of international supply chains. Looking ahead, the real GDP growth rate is expected to be 4.4% in 2025, before rising to 4.6% in 2026 and 5.2% in 2027.

Examining the various financing methods for the Congolese economy, the Committee noted that as of December 31, 2024, despite an 8.5% increase in deposits to 2,723.7 billion CFA francs, the banking system recorded a 2.9% decline in gross credit to the economy to 1,587.6 billion CFA francs and a 2.2% decline in non-performing loans to 261.7 billion CFA francs. The Treasury Securities Market (MVT) recorded outstanding amounts of 2,623.4 billion CFA francs at the end of December 2024, an increase of 15.43% year-on-year. This outstanding amount is composed of 76.21% Assimilable Treasury Bonds (OTA).

Regarding Congo's relations with the IFIs, the Committee wished to express its congratulations to the Government, particularly for the approval by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, of the sixth and final review of the three-year Economic and Financial Program (2022-2024), supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), and encouraged it to continue consolidating structural reforms to strengthen the resilience of the national economy.

At the subregional level, specifically in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) forecast economic growth of 3.0% in 2024, compared to 1.9% in 2023, driven by the recovery in the oil sector (+0.6% compared to -2.7% in 2023) and by dynamism in the non-oil sector (+3.4% after +2.8% in 2023). Inflation is expected to return to 4.5% in 2024, compared to 4.8% in 2023, mainly due to the resilience of the prices of certain imported products to the decline and the effects of climate change.

This first session of the CNEF-2025 also saw the participation, in person, of Bruno Jean Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons; Ludovic Ngatsé, Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Integration; Marcel Ondélé, Secretary General of the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC); and, via videoconference, Messrs. Yvon Sana Bangui, Governor of the BEAC; Michel Dzombala, Deputy Governor of the BEAC; Salvador Ayingono, Secretary General of the Central African Financial Market Supervisory Commission (COSUMAF); and Louis Banga Ntolo, Director General of the Central African Stock Exchange (BVMAC).

The Communications Unit of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio