Belgium open to bigger role in Congo minerals sector, foreign minister says

By Ange Kasongo

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Belgium is open to deeper involvement in Democratic Republic of Congo's minerals sector, its foreign minister said on a visit to the former Belgian colony, which is seeking to diversify its investment partners.

The vast Central African nation is home to large reserves of copper, cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals, but chronic instability has long been an obstacle to the foreign investment needed to fully develop them.

Kinshasa is currently on a push to attract new players to the sector and talks are already under way with Washington after a Congolese senator pitching a minerals-for-security deal contacted U.S. officials.

Asked by Reuters on Monday about possible interest in Congolese minerals, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prevot said Belgium had firms with the know-how to ramp up its role in the sector.

"We have globally recognised expertise with players like Umicore and John Cockerill, who have the capacity to process all these rare critical materials," he said.

"If one day the opportunity arises to also be an investment partner, we will not pull back," he added.

Despite China's dominance, Belgian firms have been involved in mining, processing and trading Congolese cobalt, copper and diamonds for decades.

Belgium-based global materials technology group Umicore signed a deal with state miner Gecamines last year to ship germanium concentrates to Europe.

Prevot said Belgium's approach to working with Congo was good for both countries, contrasting it with how some other partners operated.

"We observe the motivations of other international actors that can sometimes have a more transactional approach," he said.

Prevot was due to visit the city of Beni on Tuesday as part of a trip intended to draw attention to serious human rights issues, particularly in Congo's eastern provinces where the army is facing an offensive by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.

(Additional reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila in Dakar; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Joe Bavier)