Diplomatic World nummer 54

City Center of Kinshasa - the capital of DRC - circa September 2008. UNICEF mission against tetanus.
© shutterstock
Premier Michel recently included a paragraph in
his speech in the United Nations about the Congo
and wanted to address the critical situation.
What is your opinion on the relationship with
Belgium? Do you think we could do better? Of
course there is a shared history between Belgium
and the Congo, but I’m referring to the current
relationship.
I believe that we have a historical relationship that cannot
be changed. In the Congo, we keep referring to the
Belgians as our “uncles”, so it’s a bit of a family affair. I,
for one, have the advantage of being born in the Congo
and then having had an education in Belgium. I always
feel very comfortable when I come here and I always try
to find the time to go to Liège, which is my home province
here in Belgium. Whenever I go to Liège and visit the
university there, I feel at home. That being said, I have tons
of good Belgian friends and colleagues who I work with
here in Belgium from the ministry of foreign affairs, from
the private sector, banking, etc. I feel very good about the
relationship we have had in the past and I am confident
that we can improve that relationship even further, which
would benefit the people of the Congo and the Belgian
people.
That’s why I keep coming back to the implementation of
this Marshall Plan. We are going to draw on that historical
relationship with Belgium. On the map of the Congo, the
basic infrastructure I’m advocating for is a network of
roads, highways and railroads to link all the provinces of
the country. The railroads don’t even exist yet.
This is a massive reconstruction programme. In
addition to that, we want to build around 400 modern
cities throughout the country, which would need basic
infrastructure, meaning: schools, hospitals, an airport,
administrative offices, and so on. We will build a metro
system in the main cities like Kinshasa and Lubumbashi.
The Congolese don’t have the expertise to build this in
the Congo. Belgium will be the first place where I will
pass by to knock on the door. I will call upon the Belgians
and remind them that we have a common history; if you
help us, you are helping yourself too. So, come work with
us, bring along the private sector and let’s improve the
cooperation and the bilateral relationship. However, in
that process, we have to realize that things have changed:
we must be in the driver’s seat, because we have designed
our development strategy and you are coming to help
us to implement this strategy and talk to others in the
international community to attract more attention to the
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