France plans to promote the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Grand Inga, specifically the Inga III phase at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi on May 11–12, 2026, positioning the energy megaproject as part of a broader Africa–France agenda on investment, innovation, and development cooperation.

The diplomatic push follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on February 2 at the Palais de la Nation in Kinshasa between the French Development Agency (AFD) and the DRC’s Agency for the Development and Promotion of the Grand Inga Project (ADPI). Congolese authorities describe the agreement as a preparatory step designed to help ensure that the project’s rollout is accompanied by social and institutional readiness, particularly for communities expected to be affected by Inga III, as reported by actualite.cd.

What the MoU covers: “prepare the country” alongside the project

According to the Congolese side, the protocol is structured around four pillars aimed at preparing the environment around Inga III:

• Skills and education: vocational training and higher education are intended to equip young people for employment linked to the project’s ecosystem.

• Agriculture: support to strengthen inclusive growth and food security, with agriculture framed as a pathway for broader local benefits.

• Institutional capacity: measures focused on improving governance and transparency to manage the project’s scale and externalities.

• Spatial development: planning support tied to land use and territorial development, presented as a way to organize growth around the project area.

Nicole Bwatshia Ntumba, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President in charge of political, legal, and diplomatic affairs, framed the approach as a dual preparation: “preparing the country for the project and preparing the project for the country,” while pointing to coordination with other partners cited in the project’s ecosystem, including the World Bank and the African Development Bank.