The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States have activated a new coordination mechanism for Grand Inga, bringing the Congolese government, U.S. representatives and the World Bank together in Paris to organise the project's development and mobilise investment.
KINSHASA — October 26, 2026 — The Grand Inga hydropower vision has entered a new phase after the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States convened the inaugural meeting of their Coordination and Governance Committee for the project in Paris.
The October 26 meeting was led on the Congolese side by Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of the National Economy Daniel Mukoko Samba. It followed several preparatory sessions between the Congolese delegation and officials from the World Bank Group on the technical, economic and financial conditions required for the progressive development of Grand Inga.
The committee was established under Article X of the strategic partnership agreement signed by the DRC and the United States in Washington on December 4, 2025. Its first session gives the two countries a dedicated structure for coordinating partners, defining priorities and mobilising the capital needed to advance one of the world's most important hydropower ambitions.
The official Ministry of the National Economy update said the Paris discussions covered energy requirements, electricity-transmission infrastructure and the technical, economic and financial conditions needed for implementation.
A Dedicated RDC-US Mechanism for Grand Inga
The inaugural meeting was co-chaired by Daniel Mukoko Samba and Jeremy Wiggins, representing the United States Department of the Treasury, with the World Bank participating in the discussions.
According to reporting on the completed Paris session, the meeting focused on three closely connected priorities: mobilising investment, establishing the project's economic viability and positioning Grand Inga as an engine of Congolese industrialisation.
The committee provides equal representation for the DRC and the United States. Its mandate includes coordinating efforts to attract financing from international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, export-credit agencies, private investors and other technical and financial partners.
The framework also allows collaboration with the private sector and civil society where appropriate. This gives the committee a broad platform for connecting government leadership with institutions capable of providing capital, technology, project-development expertise and long-term investment.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Grand Inga Moves Forward as RDC-US Committee Meets in Paris
Oct 26, 2026
Oct 26, 2026
7 min read
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Updated:
The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States have activated a new coordination mechanism for Grand Inga, bringing the Congolese government, U.S. representatives and the World Bank together in Paris to organise the project's development and mobilise investment.
KINSHASA — October 26, 2026 — The Grand Inga hydropower vision has entered a new phase after the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States convened the inaugural meeting of their Coordination and Governance Committee for the project in Paris.
The October 26 meeting was led on the Congolese side by Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of the National Economy Daniel Mukoko Samba. It followed several preparatory sessions between the Congolese delegation and officials from the World Bank Group on the technical, economic and financial conditions required for the progressive development of Grand Inga.
The committee was established under Article X of the strategic partnership agreement signed by the DRC and the United States in Washington on December 4, 2025. Its first session gives the two countries a dedicated structure for coordinating partners, defining priorities and mobilising the capital needed to advance one of the world's most important hydropower ambitions.
The official Ministry of the National Economy update said the Paris discussions covered energy requirements, electricity-transmission infrastructure and the technical, economic and financial conditions needed for implementation.
A Dedicated RDC-US Mechanism for Grand Inga
The inaugural meeting was co-chaired by Daniel Mukoko Samba and Jeremy Wiggins, representing the United States Department of the Treasury, with the World Bank participating in the discussions.
According to reporting on the completed Paris session, the meeting focused on three closely connected priorities: mobilising investment, establishing the project's economic viability and positioning Grand Inga as an engine of Congolese industrialisation.
The committee provides equal representation for the DRC and the United States. Its mandate includes coordinating efforts to attract financing from international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, export-credit agencies, private investors and other technical and financial partners.
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The framework also allows collaboration with the private sector and civil society where appropriate. This gives the committee a broad platform for connecting government leadership with institutions capable of providing capital, technology, project-development expertise and long-term investment.
Congo Brings Its Key Institutions to the Table
The Congolese delegation in Paris brought together the public institutions directly involved in economic planning, energy development, project finance and national coordination.
Representatives came from the ministries of the National Economy, Finance, and Water Resources and Electricity, together with the Presidency, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Agency for the Development and Promotion of Grand Inga, the National Electricity Company and the Congolese diplomatic mission in France.
This interinstitutional presence reflects the scale of Grand Inga. Developing the project requires more than construction at the Inga site. It also involves electricity-transmission systems, demand planning, investment mobilisation, industrial strategy, environmental and social preparation, legal coordination and long-term project governance.
The Paris committee creates a single forum in which these components can be coordinated with international partners.
World Bank Supports Project Structuring
The meeting was organised at the World Bank's offices in Paris, following preparatory sessions with officials from the institution.
The World Bank's involvement is important because Grand Inga requires a structured, phased approach capable of attracting multiple sources of public and private finance. The Paris discussions examined how the project can be developed progressively while aligning energy production with transmission infrastructure and the needs of the Congolese economy.
The official Grand Inga development agency said the committee will serve as a principal consultation and coordination platform for the project's advancement and the mobilisation of the resources required for its development.
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The first session was designed to establish the committee's operating arrangements, identify its priority workstreams, examine the main development issues and define the next stages of cooperation.
This builds on broader cooperation between the DRC and the World Bank around Grand Inga. The institution is already supporting the Programme for the Development of Inga 3 through a multiphase structure that strengthens studies, project preparation and implementation capacity.
From Electricity Production to Industrial Transformation
For the Congolese government, Grand Inga is not being pursued as an electricity project alone. It is a national economic platform capable of powering industrialisation, mineral processing, manufacturing, infrastructure development and wider access to energy.
Reliable large-scale electricity can support the local transformation of Congolese minerals and other natural resources. It can also enable factories, processing plants, transport systems and new economic zones to operate with the energy required for competitive production.
The Paris talks therefore examined both electricity generation and the infrastructure needed to transport that power to users. Matching production with national energy demand and transmission capacity is central to ensuring that Grand Inga supports households, businesses, industries and communities inside the DRC.
The government's objective is to use the project to stimulate local value addition, create employment, expand industrial activity and improve living conditions.
Strategic Partnership Becomes an Operational Framework
The committee is a direct implementation mechanism created by the RDC-US strategic partnership agreement.
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The Ministry of the National Economy's record of the December 2025 signing describes the agreement as a major step in bilateral relations, bringing Congolese economic priorities into a durable framework of cooperation with the United States.
Article X gives Grand Inga a defined place within that partnership. By convening the committee in Paris, the two countries have moved from the agreement's institutional design to an active coordination structure focused on project development and investment mobilisation.
The new mechanism also complements national coordination already underway in Kinshasa. Earlier in October, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka led the second meeting of the RDC-US task force, while President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo chaired the first meeting of the Grand Inga strategic council.
These structures connect the Presidency, government ministries, ADPI-RDC and international partners around a common implementation agenda.
A Presidential Vision for Energy and Development
President Tshisekedi has positioned Grand Inga as a strategic project for expanding electricity access and accelerating the economic development of the DRC.
During the Grand Inga strategic council meeting on October 8, the President directed the responsible institutions to strengthen governance, complete strategic studies, mobilise investors and the private sector, consolidate the legal framework and produce practical benefits for Congolese communities.
The Presidency's official account of that meeting states that the long-term Grand Inga vision targets up to 40,000 megawatts of generation capacity to serve national and regional needs. The Presidency also presented employment creation, greater access to electricity and improved living conditions as central expected benefits.
The development model places Congolese interests at the centre: national energy security, local industrialisation, economic sovereignty and tangible progress for communities.
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