Democratic Republic of the Congo–United Kingdom relations are the bilateral relations between the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The Democratic Republic of the Congo maintains an embassy in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and the United Kingdom maintains an embassy in Kinshasa. The United Kingdom established its first

Diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

with the Congo Free State in 1902 when a British Consulate was built in the then capital Boma. A vice-consulate later opened in

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...

in 1906. In 1923

was proclaimed the capital of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

and in 1930 the British Consulate in Boma closed and the vice-consulate in

became the consulate. Along with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

the United Kingdom was a supporter of the Mobutu Sese Seko regime in

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

due to the regime's anti-communist stance. President Mobutu made a state visit to the United Kingdom in December 1973. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a recipient of

UK Aid , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...

, in 2014 the Department for International Development spent £162.2 million on programmes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

References

{{Foreign relations of the United Kingdom

Congo, Democratic Republic

See also

References