The Democratic Republic of Congo has agreed to accept migrants deported from the US who are not themselves Congolese under a deal effective from this month, officials said.
The Ministry of Communication said a temporary reception system had been set up, while facilities to accommodate arrivals had been selected in the capital, Kinshasa.
Logistical and technical support will be provided by the US, the statement on Sunday noted, adding that the Congolese government would bear no financial cost for the scheme.
The government did not say how many deportees they would accept. The US has already sent deportees to several other countries in Africa as part of Washington’s crackdown on immigration.
Amid concerns that migrants could be returned to their home countries – where some fear persecution – Congolese officials said no such transfers are being planned.
The decision to receive what are known as third-country migrants – that is those who come from neither the sending nor receiving nation – aligns with DR Congo’s commitment to human dignity, international solidarity and to protect the rights of migrants, the statement read.
The Congolese authorities also said that the scheme is not a permanent relocation mechanism or an outsourcing of migration policies.
Meanwhile, African, Somalia says it is ready to begin its first offshore oil drilling operations, with a Turkish government-owned drilling ship expected to arrive off its coast on Friday.
The move follows the successful completion of seismic surveys last year by a Turkish research vessel.
In a post on X, Somalia’s Petroleum Minister Dahir Shire described the move toward what would be the country’s first offshore drilling as a historic milestone in offshore energy journey.
The foreign ministry said if the drilling were to be successful, it would unlock offshore oil reserves and support the country’s economic recovery as a regional energy player. The Turkish Petroleum Corporation’s drilling ship, Çağrı Bey, is on its first international mission, heading into Somalia’s territorial waters in the Arabian Sea.