C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001032

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2017
TAGS: PREL EPET ECON PGOV EMIN CG AO
SUBJECT: CONGO, ANGOLA ANNOUNCE PLANS TO DEMARCATE BORDER,
DEVELOP SHARED OIL VENTURES

REF: A. KINSHASA 318

B. KINSHASA 343

C. KINSHASA 906

D. KINSHASA 884

Classified By: PolCouns DBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d


1. (C) Summary. Congo and Angola agreed in July 24-31
meetings in Luanda to refer a lingering border dispute to a
committee of experts, and to share certain offshore oil
revenues. Presidents Kabila and dos Santos met July 30-31
and finalized these and other agreements. The two sides plan
to conclude terms for construction of a highway from
Luanda across Congolese territory to Cabinda at a follow-up
meeting in Kinshasa in October. Results of the meetings made
public to date demonstrate the value both governments place
on maintaining good bilateral relations. End summary.


2. (U) The Congolese and Angolan governments agreed during
the eighth meeting of their bilateral Mixed Commission July
24-31 in Luanda to establish a joint experts commission
including Belgium and Portugal to define their full 2511 km
border. They also concluded several agreements for joint
initiatives in areas including petroleum, immigration, mining
and culture, which were signed by Presidents Joseph Kabila
and Eduardo dos Santos at the end of Kabila's July 30-31
official visit. Additional agreements, including on
infrastructure and transportation, are scheduled for
completion at the commission's October meeting in Kinshasa.


3. (SBU) According to press reports, the two delegations
totaled 21 ministers as well as numerous other senior
officials and experts. They were headed by Congolese
Minister of State for Foreign Relations and International
Cooperation Mbusa Nyamwisi and Angolan Foreign Minister Jose
Eduardo de Almeida and included sub-commissions on defense
and security, economic, transportation and cultural issues.
Mbusa told us August 2 that the meetings had gone well. He
highlighted movement toward resolving a border disput

e around
the Congolese territory of Kahembe (ref A), sharing certain
offshore oil revenues and constructing a highway and pipeline
across Bas-Congo province to the Angolan enclave of Cabinda.


4. (C) The statement by the two presidents provides details
on next steps for resolving the border dispute. This had
provided opportunities for grandstanding by politicians in
Kinshasa that, according to press reports, aggravated dos
Santos. Mbusa told us he accepts the validity of the March
2007 bilateral report which placed the disputed territory in
Angola, rather than the opposite conclusions contained in the
July report by a special National Assembly commission (refs
B, C). In the end, the two delegations agreed to create a
joint Congolese-Angolan-Belgian-Portuguese experts group to
review historical and technical data to delineate the entire
frontier. Mbusa said the group will hold its first
meeting in October. (Note: On August 28 the Belgian Charg
d,Affaires and the Portuguese ambassador here confirmed that
the RDC and Angola have formally invited them to join a four
party commission to demarcate the border. Both European
nations have agreed to take part. End note.)


5. (C) The delegations also agreed to a 50/50 share of
production and revenues from any new oil wells developed in
an offshore Zone of Common Interest extending from the 15 km
coastal zone in a 10 km strip to the 375 km (200-mile) limit.
Wells currently being exploited by Angola in the zone will
not be affected by the arrangement. Mbusa expressed
satisfaction, noting that existing agreements provided no
economic benefits to Congo. Reporters quoted Petroleum
Minister Lambert Mende estimating that results would take at
least a year to achieve, and Mbusa enthusiastically
predicting OPEC membership "in the near future." Mende told
a radio audience August 8 that the two governments have begun
work to determine the limits of the zone.


6. (C) Mbusa also noted that the delegations had agreed in
principle to joint ownership of a USD 2bn highway linking
Luanda and Cabinda across the Congolese province of
Bas-Congo. He said Congo will own the span which passes
through Bas-Congo. He said the link will also include a
pipeline and a spur to the Congolese post of Boma. The
formal agreement is expected to be signed in October.


7. (C) None of the texts have been made public, and news
accounts of the meetings have been spotty. Reports by the

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official Congolese press agency noted the two sides also
signed additional agreements involving immigration control,
diamond mining in border areas and cultural exchanges.
Referring to the tens of thousands of Congolese expelled
from Angola since the end of last year (ref D), Mbusa said
the Angolan delegation claimed only Congolese found to be
illegally in Angola, many of them recruited by Angolan
concerns, were being expelled. He said Angola believes some
1.5m Congolese have taken Angolan nationality, and are
well-integrated into life there. However, with legislative
elections set for 2008 and a presidential vote in 2009, he
said the Angolan government was concerned that they may be
pro-UNITA.


8. (U) Discussions will continue in other areas at the
commission's October session. The joint statement noted that
dos Santos had accepted an invitation from Kabila for a state
visit to Congo at a yet-to-be-determined date. Following his
official visit to Luanda, Kabila visited the port of Lobito
in Benguela, the former terminus of a disused rail link to
Katanga, which is being rebuilt by China.


9. (C) Comment. Angola intervened in the Second Congo War
(1998-2003) on behalf of Laurent Kabila, Joseph Kabila,s
father, preventing his overthrow. Circumstances have changed
since and both governments place a high premium on good
relations. Dos Santos was initially unwilling to accept
further mediation of the border dispute but agreed in the end
to the Congolese proposal to bring in Belgian and European
experts to provide technical cover for what is likely to be a
conclusion confirming the Angolan position. End comment.
BROCK