Foreign delegations from 95 countries took part in SPIEF 2024, which was held in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on June 5-8, including 63 heads of the diplomatic corps and 48 foreign ministers, with honored guests, the presidents of Zimbabwe and Bolivia.

The Republic of the Congo welcomes Russian investment in the development of natural capital, the country’s Minister of Planning, Statistics and Regional Integration Ingrid Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas told the Russian media on Sunday.

She emphasized that Congo and Russia have been cooperating for 60 years, since 1964, and this cooperation is most developed in the field of education, since “Russia educates Congolese students.”

According to the minister, it is of importance that this partnership is strengthened by “promoting greater participation of Russian companies in the development process of the Congo. Our national development plan for 2022-2026 includes several projects that should be of interest to the Russian private sector.”

Furthermore, Brazzaville welcomes Russia’s contribution to the nation’s natural capital development strategy, she added.

Congo has several large projects that require significant financial resources, the minister emphasized. And in order to finance these projects, the contribution of all partners is required in all forms: loans, public-private partnerships, donations, private investments, she said.

“The financial capabilities of the new BRICS+ investment bank should become a lever to facilitate the implementation of these integration projects,” Ebouka-Babackas added.

The Congolese official emphasized that this is a great opportunity for Russian companies to expand their business portfolio and reach the international level.

Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov completed his sixth African tour, where he visited Guinea, Congo, Burkina Faso and Chad. In these countries, he held meetings both with the leaders of the countries and with his colleagues and foreign ministers. In 2023, he made two more similar trips.