On July 18, 2019, a flag-raising ceremony to commemorate the accession of the Republic of the Congo (RoC) into INBAR as the 45th member state was held at INBAR Headquarters in Beijing. The ceremony was attended by JIANG Zehui, Co-Chair of INBAR Board of Trustees and Director General of ICBR; and FEI Benhua, Executive Deputy Director General of ICBR, among many others.
JIANG Zehui welcomed the RoC to the INBAR family. As she pointed out, bamboo and rattan are gifts from nature that can play an important role in south-south cooperation, the Belt and Road initiative and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Africa is an important bamboo and rattan growing region that sees rapid development of bamboo and rattan industries. It is also the continent with the fastest growing and largest membership of INBAR. The RoC borders Cameroon, where the INBAR Central Africa Regional Office is located, and is rich in forest and grassland resources, including bamboo and rattan. Through joint efforts with China, other member countries and international partners, and by making good use of the China-Africa Bamboo Center and the INBAR Central Africa Regional Office, the RoC will enter a new era of rapid development for bamboo and rattan industries and will certainly make its due contribution to the sustainable development of bamboo and rattan industries in Africa and across the world.
Daniel Owassa, Ambassador of the RoC to China, expressed his pleasure to see his country joining INBAR. Bamboo and rattan are common plants in the RoC and are part of its native culture. The Congolese people use bamboo and rattan for subsistence and for the manufacture of a variety of goods. It is the hope of the RoC to work closely with other INBAR member countries to promote the green and sustainable development of bamboo and rattan resources in Africa and around the world, so that the RoC and the entire African continent can benefit from them.
Witnessed by all the guests, Ali Mchumo, Director General of INBAR and Daniel Owassa raised the national flag of the RoC on the square in front of INBAR Headquarters.
