On Thursday, October 13, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center hosted a discussion on the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Ambassador Barnabé Kikaya Bin Karubi, diplomatic adviser to President Joseph Kabila, and Corneille Nangaa Yobelou, president of the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI). The event was co-hosted with the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the McCain Institute for International Leadership.

Given the current tense situation in the African country and having previously hosted roundtables with several prominent leaders of the Congolese political opposition, including Vitale Kamerhe, Olivier Kamitatu, and Moïse Katumbi, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center was pleased to avail itself of the opportunity offered to provide a forum for the presentation of the DRC government’s perspective, represented by Kikaya and Nangaa, and to do so in collaboration with the two other Washington-based organizations most closely engaged on Congo-related issues.

After a welcome from Africa Center Director Dr. J. Peter Pham, both Paul Fagan, director of the DRC program at the McCain Institute for International Leadership, and Elizabeth Lewis, deputy regional director for Africa at IRI, gave overviews of their respective programming on the DRC.

A full transcript of Kikaya’s remarks can be found below.

Kikaya and Nangaa were accompanied by a Congolese delegation that included His Excellency François Baulmuene, ambassador to the United States; Leonard She Okitundu, Member of the Congolese Senate; and Genevieve Inagosi Kassongo, Member of the National Assembly, among others.

Image: Ambassador Barnabé Kikaya Bin Karubi, diplomatic adviser to President Joseph Kabila, speaks at the Atlantic Council on Thursday.