BRUSSELS – Belgium is going to reopen its consulate-general in Bukavu in the Congolese province of South Kivu. Minister for Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht announced this during his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The consulate in Bukavu will be the third Belgian diplomatic post in the DRC.

Minister De Gucht also confirmed that a new embassy will be built in Kinshasa. The existing embassy building still bears the scars of the violence that broke out several weeks ago between the Congolese army and the troops of opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba.

The other Belgian diplomatic post in Congo is the consulate general in Lubumbashi, the capital of the province of Katanga, in the southeast of the country.

The consulate general of Bukavu was closed in 1990 when cooperation was stopped between Belgium and the country when it was known as Zaire under Mobutu Sese Seko. The consulate may open as early as this summer and a new consulate general will be appointed.

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Belgian news