Bilateral Meeting with H.E. Rosalie Matondo, Minister of Forest Economy of the Republic of the Congo

Rome – The FAO Director-General, Qu Dongyu, met today with Her Excellency Rosalie Matondo, Minister of Forest Economy of the Republic of the Congo at FAO headquarters on the margins of the 29th Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO) and 10th World Forest Week.

Following his welcoming remarks, the Director-General thanked the Minister for the Republic of the Congo’s active participation in the COFO and the 10th World Forest Week, in particular through the engagement of the Congolese national, Mr Pierre Taty, as Chair of COFO.

The Minister thanked the Director-General and proceeded to underscore the central role of forests in Congo’s development agenda. She further highlighted the country’s commitment to sustainable forest management and certification, and emphasized that FAO’s ongoing support was instrumental in advancing these efforts.

The Minister also stressed the importance of protecting forests, noting they were vital for energy, food security, and livelihoods. In this regard, she underlined the need to identify viable alternatives to reduce deforestation, and indicated that the Congo would benefit from FAO’s technical expertise in developing a comprehensive strategy and roadmap. In this regard, she noted that implementation would require strong national ownership and enhanced capacity-building. Finally, the Minister advocated for the establishment of a FAO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) to support the country’s priorities.

In his response, the Director-General acknowledged the global importance of preserving the Congo Basin forests, and encouraged the Government of the Congo to further strengthen collaboration with FAO to better identify and refine needs, including through the FAO Regional Office for Africa for support in advancing the development TCP projects.