Democratic Republic of Congo: Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received on the steps taken by the Democratic Republic of Congo towards validation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative; and if he will make it his policy to support the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo in its efforts to (a) achieve validation and (b) ensure effective implementation of these initiatives. (320948)

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is making good progress towards validation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The formal validation process is underway and the Government of the DRC expect to meet the outstanding benchmarks for validation by June 2010.

The Department for International Development's (DFID's) staff in Kinshasa are involved in regular dialogue with the Government of the DRC and the international community to promote progress with EITI. DFID is currently preparing a joint mining sector reform project with the World Bank, which will provide long-term support to EITI implementation in the DRC.