Léandre Bassolé, the African Development Bank Group's new Director General for Central Africa, has reaffirmed the Bank Group's commitment to support Republic of Congo at a critical moment in its economic recovery.
Appointed in April 2025, Bassolé led a delegation to Brazzaville from 4 - 7 August to meet national authorities. Bassolé emphasised the Bank's full readiness to assist the Congolese government in implementing its development priorities, including the progress of macroeconomic reforms and fiscal discipline commitments.
These opportunities are all contained within the Bank supported framework 2023-2028 Country Strategy Paper and the 2022-2026 National Development Plan.
This visit comes at a particularly pivotal moment in the cooperative relationship between the Bank Group and the Republic of Congo. The country, which signed a headquarters agreement with the Bank Group in 2012, will host the organisation's 61st Annual Meetings next May.
"The visit is part of the African Development Bank Group's strong commitment to enhancing its proximity to its regional member countries, particularly those in Central Africa, and to consolidating partnerships based on impact and accountability," said Bassolé.
Together with Ludovic Ngatsé, the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Integration, who is also the Bank's Governor for Congo and the Bank Group's Chairman of the Board of Governors, Bassolé praised the excellent quality of the partnership between the Bank and Congo.
He reiterated the institution's commitment to supporting the country in implementing the 2022-2026 National Development Plan and in preparing for next year's Annual Meetings. An initial preparatory visit by the Bank Group is expected to take place from 11 - 19 September 2025 in Brazzaville, where discussions will be held with the relevant authorities on the holding of those meetings. Bassolé restated the Bank's complete readiness to support the Congolese authorities in ensuring the success of the event.
During his visit, Bassolé held high-level talks with several members of the government, including Christian Yoka, Finance Minister, Emile Ouosso, Minister of Energy and Water, Paul Valentin Ngobo, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, and Léon Juste Ibombo, Minister of Post, Telecommunications and Digital Economy. These discussions provided an opportunity to review the main projects underway in the agriculture, energy, digital and infrastructure sectors. They focused on the conditions necessary to accelerate the implementation of the Bank Group's projects in Congo, particularly the Integrated Agricultural Value Chains Development Project (PRODIVAC), as well as the completion of the National Data Centre and structural projects with high socioeconomic impact.
Discussions with Minister Yoka, the Bank's Deputy Governor for Congo, focused on opportunities for harnessing additional financing for Congo, the progress of macroeconomic reforms, and the government's commitments to fiscal discipline. The Bank commended the Congolese authorities' efforts to consolidate public finances, paving the way for the restoration of a lending margin from 2026.
In the energy and water sector, talks with Minister Ouosso focused on development challenges, particularly the various feasibility studies currently underway, the preparation of the Energy Compact under Mission 300, and the securing of funding for the future Project to Improve the Performance of and Access to the Electricity Sector (PAPASE).
In the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sector, the two parties emphasised the need to refocus the management of the Integrated Agricultural Value Chains Development Project in order to accelerate results, the importance of strengthening coordination teams and operationalising project branches, and the prospects for the development of priority agricultural zones.
Agreement on rebasing of Congolese GDP
The African Development Bank and the Congolese government signed a grant agreement worth approximately $600,000. These resources, which come from the Middle-Income Country Technical Assistance Fund, will be used to support the rebasing of Congo's gross domestic product (GDP) through the transition from the 1993 to the 2008 national accounting system. The Bank intends to strengthen the country's capacity to produce reliable, disaggregated macroeconomic data that complies with international standards to better reflect recent developments in the national economy.
"This project aims to ensure that Congo's GDP is set at its true value," Ngatsé explained. "This will bring about substantial changes. The debt ratio could fall significantly, which will enhance our country's transparency and credibility with technical and financial partners. Rebasing is also a powerful lever for improving our risk profile and harnessing more resources for development."
Bassolé added: "The GDP rebasing is not a mere statistical exercise. It is a strategic step that will enable Congo to better reflect the reality of its economy, improve its key macroeconomic indicators, and strengthen its credibility with investors and technical and financial partners."
Field visit and dialogue with development partners
The Director General and the Minister of Agriculture visited the Bambou-Mingali Protected Agricultural Zone, 65 km north of Brazzaville, as part of the aforementioned Integrated Agricultural Value Chains Development Project, which focuses on initiatives to promote the socioeconomic integration of young people within the agricultural sector.
The Bank delegation also held high-level discussions with the United Nations Resident Coordinator and several heads of partner agencies. These interactions centred on coordinating initiatives, aligning priorities and strengthening complementarities in key areas of development. The Bank reasserted its commitment to consolidating a partnership based on strategic dialogue, performance, and tangible impact on communities.
"Maintaining budgetary discipline will be crucial to enable Congo to access a new lending margin from 2026 in order to finance more structural projects," Bassolé concluded.
