On Monday 19 December 2022 in Brazzaville, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, French Secretary of State to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, in charge of Development, La Francophonie and international partners; Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas, Congolese Minister of Planning, Statistics and Regional Integration, Governor of the World Bank for Congo, representing her colleague Jean-Baptiste Ondaye, Minister of Economy and Finance; and Maurizio Cascioli, Minister of Finance of Congo; and Maurizio Cascioli, Director of the French Development Agency (AFD), signed two Financing Agreements, relating to the Sustainable Land Use Programme (SLUP), for a total amount of 24.5 million Euros (i.e. 16 billion 70 million 946. 500 FCFA), over a period of 5 years (2022-2027), in the presence of the Ambassadors of the Board of Directors of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) in the Republic of Congo.

Implemented by the Ministry of Land Management, Infrastructure and Road Maintenance; the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries; the Ministry of the Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin and the Ministry of Forest Economy, this programme aims to support the Congolese Government's efforts to structure its national land use planning approach, in particular by supporting the development of the National Land Use Plan (PNAT), a national land use and development plan for 2025 and two pilot departmental plans. The strengthening of the institutional framework and the implementation of these cross-sectoral instruments dedicated to land use planning should thus support the definition of an integrated development strategy, reconciling the objectives of socio-economic development and the sustainability of natural resources and ecosystems.

During the ceremony, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou emphasized the strategic nature of this programme and France's support for the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). She recalled that this signature reaffirms the commitments formalized in the CAFI Letter of Intent, signed on 3 September 2019 by Denis Sassou-N'Guesso, President of the Republic of Congo, and Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, on behalf of the CAFI Board of Directors.

The SLUP aims to support the achievement of 22 of the 52 commitments set out in the Letter to implement the Republic of Congo's national low-carbon development path. She also specified that it is through the SLUP Programmes and its Investment Programme (which should be launched in the first half of 2023 and which will also be the subject of additional financing from the European Union (EU) of 15 million Euros delegated to AFD), that the additional commitments of 15 million Euros announced by France in the framework of its contribution to CAFI will materialize.

For her part, Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas welcomed the launch of this Programme, which is perfectly aligned with the Government's objectives, and called for the greatest mobilization of all stakeholders for its success, under the leadership of Anatole Collinet-Makosso, Prime Minister, Head of the Congolese Government, and pilot of the partnership between CAFI and the Republic of Congo. 

The SLUP offers the opportunity for the country not only to fulfill its commitments to the international community, but also to put the objectives of its National Development Plan (NDP) 2022-2026 on a low-carbon, responsible and more resilient path.

‘’The impact of this programme will be significant, as it should enable the generalization and entrenchment of harmonized practices and uses of the Congolese territory, ensuring the sustainable use of land and natural resources, the preservation of forests and peat lands, and a low-carbon development trajectory’’, concluded Ingrid Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas.

The Communication Unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance