The President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou NGUESSO, was received by Pope Francis during his official visit to Vatican City in Rome on Monday 25 November 2024. The Congolese head of state called for the beatification of Cardinal Emile Biayenda, a Congolese Catholic who was assassinated in 1977 in circumstances that remain unclear. In addition, an intergovernmental agreement was signed on the same day in Rome by Minister Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, on behalf of the Congolese government, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on behalf of Italy.
The Republic of Congo is to benefit from a support programme for the development of nine integrated health centres. The country is to receive an initial tranche of €45 million for this programme, financed by Italy. Of the €45 million to be disbursed shortly, ‘€35 million is a zero-interest loan repayable over 28 years, including a 10-year grace period, and €10 million is a grant from Italy to the Congo’.
« This programme will cover nine integrated health centres in our country, to ensure that our people in the most difficult areas of our hinterland receive quality care”.
Denis Christel SASSOU NGUESSO, Minister for Cooperation and Public-Private Partnership – Congo
The programme will run for five years, with a total budget of 236 million euros . The relevant intergovernmental agreement was signed on Monday 25 November 2024 in Rome by Minister Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, on behalf of the Congolese government, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on behalf of the Italian side.
« We’re part of the Mattei plan being developed by the government of Giorgia Meloni, because the Mattei plan covers several sectors, and here we have the health sector, and a budget like this will enable us to develop the various health infrastructures. And that’s precisely where the Congo wins.
Denis Christel SASSOU NGUESSO, Minister for Cooperation and Public-Private Partnership – Congo
The strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Congo and Italy has been materialised by the official visit of the President of the Republic Denis Sassou NGUESSO to Italy since Sunday 24 November 2024. This visit took him to Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella, and also to the President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni. In Vatican City, where the Congolese head of state was received in audience by Pope Francis, he called for the beatification of Cardinal Emile Biayenda, an emblematic figure of the Congolese Catholic Church who was assassinated on 22 March 1977, and for a new cardinal to be sent to the Republic of Congo.