Spotlight | DRC
Kagame and Tshisekedi play diplomatic cat and mouse

DRC
Félix Tshisekedi to make official visit to France

The Congolese president has accepted Emmanuel Macron's invitation to Paris next month.

DRC, Morocco
Kinshasa prepares for presidential visit to Rabat

An advance team of DRC officials might head to Rabat in the next few days to prepare a possible visit by President Félix Tshisekedi, in the wake of his February phone call with King Mohammed VI.

DRC
French government reshuffle delays DRC ambassador's accreditation

Despite being appointed DR Congo ambassador to Paris and Monaco in August, Emile Ngoy Kasongo has still not been able to present his credentials to the French authorities. The reason? The government reshuffle currently underway in Paris.

DRC
DR Congo security chief seeks to reboot Paris-Kinshasa relations

Jean-Louis Esambo, who just took over as head of DR Congo's Conseil National de Sécurité, is seeking to rekindle relations with French intelligence and diplomatic services.

Egypt
Cairo seeks to secure a positive legacy for its lacklustre COP27

Egypt is taking steps to ensure that a fund conceived to help states in the global south will take shape at the next United Nations climate change conference in Dubai at the end of the year.

Palace Intrigues
Alassane Ouattara, Denis Sassou Nguesso, Félix Tshisekedi, Mahamat Idriss Déby

Intrigues big and small: every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

Ivory Coast Ouattara and Sassou neatly avoid the Soro issue

DRC Tshisekedi calls up Israeli counterpart for support

Cameroon Did the Chadian ambassador stay or go?

DRC, Rwanda
Neither Kagame nor Tshisekedi to attend Macron's Paris summit

Neither Kagame nor Tshisekedi will attend Macron's summit for a new global financial deal, to be held in Paris on the 22 and 23 June.

DRC
Congolese government arrives en masse in China for talks

Several of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi's ministers arrived in Beijing before his state visit.

DRC
Tshisekedi sceptical of future of Addis framework peace agreement

DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi does not look favourably on potential future discussions on a "re-evaluation" of the 2013 Addis Ababa framework agreement for peace in the DRC and the Great Lakes region.

Palace Intrigues
Denis Sassou Nguesso, Alassane Ouattara, Félix Tshisekedi and Azali Assoumani

Intrigues big and small: every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

Congo Sassou Nguesso holds discreet talks with Chadian opposition's Succès Masra

Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara rules out imminent reshuffle

Comoros Azali Assoumani's backdoor diplomacy during Charles III's coronation

DRC despite being sidelined, Claude Ibalanky gets busy in Bujumbura

Senegal
Macky Sall to attend Charles III coronation

The Senegalese president Macky Sall will be in London on 6 May for the coronation of the British king Charles III.

DRC
Paris dispatches mission to Kinshasa

Quentin Teisseire, the French foreign ministry's deputy director for Central Africa, will travel to Kinshasa this week.

Angola, DRC
Luanda and Doha support M23 mediation efforts as Kinshasa loses faith

Qatar and Angola have been consolidating their bilateral ties as they look for ways of supporting various sub-regional initiatives to mediate between the M23 rebel group and the DRC government.

Burundi, Congo
Ndayishimiye heads to Brazzaville for eastern DRC crisis talks

The Burundian president will make an official visit to Congo on 26-27 February at the invitation of his counterpart Denis Sassou Nguesso to discuss the crisis in the east of the DRC between Kinshasa and Kigali.

Central Africa
Ali Bongo keen to mediate between Kinshasa and Kigali while head of ECCAS

Gabonese head of state Ali Bongo, who will shortly take over ECCAS's rotating presidency, is keen to be involved in resolving the DRC-Rwanda crisis.

DRC, France
Macron dispatches his advance guard to Kinshasa

In advance of his scheduled March visit, Emmanuel Macron this week dispatched his top adviser on Africa, Franck Paris, to Kinshasa to prepare for this politically sensitive trip.

DRC, Qatar
Qatar disappointed by Tshisekedi's no-show

Qatari diplomats were due to host Paul Kagame and Félix Tshisekedi in Doha on 23 January, but the gathering was cancelled after Kinshasa pulled out at the last minute. A decision that came as a surprise to Qatar, given that it was Tshisekedi who had requested mediation in the conflict in eastern DRC.

Kenya
Kenyatta seeks $10m for his new mediation institute

The main aim of the new entity, which bears the name of the former president, is to forge strategic partnerships and raise money for its conflict-resolution work in DRC and Ethiopia.

African Union, Comoros islands, Rwanda
M23: Vincent Biruta lobbies Azali Assoumani

Officially, Vincent Biruta visited Moroni on 16 January to sign partnerships that had been planned for several years between Rwanda and the Comoros. In reality, it was to talk about the DRC.

DRC
French MP Carlos Martens Bilongo to make first ever visit to DRC

The French MP Carlos Martens Bilongo (La France Insoumise-Nupes), a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee, will be in Kinshasa for work from 22-26 January.

DRC, Rwanda
Turkish group TAI touts its combat drones to both Kinshasa and Kigali

The flagship Turkish defence company Turkish Aerospace Industries is leading a spirited commercial offensive in Central Africa against the backdrop of high tension between DRC and Rwanda.

DRC, Rwanda
DRC security services detain alleged Rwandan spies

A dozen Rwandan nationals are being held in incommunicado detention by the Congolese security services. At least five are suspected by Kinshasa of being spies in the service of Paul Kagame - an allegation that Kigali denies.

DRC, Rwanda
DRC/Rwanda: latest UN report gets behind-the-scenes of the proxy war

The recent report by the UN group of experts looks into allegations that the Congolese army is collaborating with the Mai-Mai and the FDLR in its battle against the M23, which has made considerable territorial gains of late.

DRC
United Nations perplexed by Nairobi III process

"Unrealistic expectations", "serious logistical shortcomings" and numerous crises... A United Nations report has concluded that peace talks in Nairobi between the DR Congo government and rebel groups active in eastern DRC were unproductive and close to collapse.

Congo, France
Chrysoula Zacharopoulou's tour of the two Congos

France's secretary of state for the Francophonie, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, is to visit Brazzaville from 18 to 20 December to discuss the One Planet Summit with Congolese president Denis Sassou Nguesso.

Congo, France, Gabon
Sassou to meet Macron in Paris on 17 December

The French presidential palace is to host Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso on 17 December, on his return from the US-Africa summit in Washington, for a tête-à-tête with French President Emmanuel Macron.

France, Gabon
Elysee gets going on One Forest Summit in Libreville

Emmanuel Macron's adviser Josué Serres recently travelled to Libreville to meet Gabon's environment minister Lee White to discuss the organisation of the One Planet Summit on preserving Central Africa's forests, planned for March or April in Gabon.

DRC, France
Chrysoula Zacharopoulou to pave way for Macron's trip to Kinshasa

French Secretary of State for Development, the French-speaking diaspora and International Partnerships, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, will travel to Kinshasa mid-December to prepare for Emmanuel Macron's upcoming visit.

Spotlight | DRC, Rwanda
Diplomatic cat and mouse from New York to Paris over Rwanda's alleged support for M23 rebels

Western capitals and the United Nations remain wary of dealing with the evidence that they say they have concerning Rwanda's support for the rebel M23 movement, much to the displeasure of Kinshasa.