This article covers India's development partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): lines of credit and the Kakobola hydroelectric project, grants and humanitarian assistance, training and scholarships, India's part in peacekeeping in the DRC, and cooperation in defence, energy, digital public infrastructure, agriculture and health. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) brief of April 2026.

Lines of credit

According to the MEA brief of April 2026, India has extended the following Lines of Credit (LOCs) to the DRC:

  • US$ 33.5 million for setting up a cement plant and supply of TATA and Ashok Leyland buses and spare parts, in 2005-2006
  • US$ 25 million for a rural water supply project
  • US$ 42 million for commissioning the 10.3 MW Kakobola hydro-electric plant, in 2010-2011
  • US$ 34.50 million for a project for distributing power generated from the plant, in May 2015

Kakobola hydroelectric project

The Government of India-supported LOC project of the Kakobola hydroelectric power plant was inaugurated on 23 March 2026 by H.E. Mr. Aime Molendo Sakombi, Minister of Hydraulic Resources & Electricity. On 26 March 2026, H.E. Mr. Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, inaugurated the Kikwit power distribution network of the plant.

The brief describes the project as a transformative initiative for providing reliable and sustainable electricity to towns in the Kwilu province, and as a symbol of India-DRC partnership.

Grants and humanitarian assistance

India has provided economic assistance to the DRC in the form of tractors (60 nos.) and spares in 2006-07, and medicines worth US$ 1 million in 2008-09. During the Covid pandemic, India donated 50,000 Made-in-India vaccines to the DRC in March 2021.

Training and scholarships

The brief sets out several channels of capacity building for Congolese nationals:

  • ITEC: India offers training in human resource development under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. Around 630 officials from the DRC have been trained under ITEC starting from 2006. Under ITEC, 7 Congolese Solar mamas were trained in solar electrification at the Barefoot College in Rajasthan in 2010-15.
  • IAFS training: 24 DRC officials have benefitted from various training courses offered under IAFS-I, II and III (2010-14).
  • Tele-education: Tele-education projects were implemented under the Pan-African e-network project, and around 100 Congolese students have benefitted from e-VBAB courses so far.
  • ICCR scholarships: The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) offers scholarships for Congolese nationals. As of the brief, 55 ICCR scholarships had been availed since 2012.

The Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service (SSIFS) has trained Congolese diplomats. In October 2022, one Congolese diplomat attended the 69th PCFD Course at SSIFS. SSIFS has also organised special courses for Congolese diplomats: the first, held in November-December 2019, was attended by 11 diplomats, and the second, held in March 2025, by 32 diplomats from the DRC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Peacekeeping

The brief states that India has a long history of contributing troops for peacekeeping operations in the DRC. India sent its Gurkha troops to the DRC in the early 60s (1960-62) under ONUC, the UN peacekeeping mission, for countering the rebellion in Katanga province. In March 1961, Indian troops participated in the 99th Infantry brigade during the Katanga secession crisis.

India also contributed troops to the UN peacekeeping missions in 1964 and 2000. It currently contributes troops to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), and the brief states that India is at present among the largest personnel contributors to MONUSCO.

Defence cooperation

H.E. Mr. Gilbert Kabanda Kurhenga, Minister of Defence & War Veterans, led a delegation to India and visited DefExpo 2022, held from 18-22 October 2022, and the 2nd India-Africa Defence Dialogue. H.E. Mr. Marcel Metikwiza Lukwikila, Permanent Secretary of the DRC's Ministry of Defence, led delegations to India, which the brief dates from 1-15 July 2024, 29 July 2024 and February 2025.

Energy and the International Solar Alliance

The DRC was one of the first countries to sign the International Solar Alliance Agreement. H.E. Mr. Leonard She Okitundu Lundula, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, attended the International Solar Alliance founding conference in March 2018, and H.E. Mr. Ingele Ifoto, Minister of Energy & Hydraulic Resources, attended the First General Assembly of the International Solar Alliance in New Delhi in October 2018.

Earlier energy-related visits to India were made by H.E. Mr. Salomon Banamuhere Baliene, Minister of Energy, from 20-24 August 2007, and by H.E. Mr. Jeannot Matadi Nenga, Minister of Energy & Water Resources, who undertook a bilateral visit in April 2016.

Digital public infrastructure and telecommunications

A delegation led by the Special Advisor to the President of the DRC visited Mumbai and Delhi in March 2022 and held meetings with NPCI, UIDAI and the Election Commission of India. An NPCI team visited Kinshasa in July 2022 and held discussions with representatives of the Congo Central Bank.

Earlier, H.E. Mr. Simon Bulupiy Galati, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Posts, Telephones & Telecommunications, participated in an international telecommunications conference in Hyderabad in May 2010.

Agriculture and health

The Director for Agriculture Extension of the National Institute of Agriculture Extension management (MANAGE), an organisation of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, visited the DRC in October 2017. In health, H.E. Mr. Felix Kabange Numbi, Minister of Public Health, undertook a bilateral visit to India in March 2013.