High-Level Political Dialogue: A Joint Commitment to the Forests of Central Africa

On 8 September 2025, on the sidelines of the Second African Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC), the Franco-Gabonese Co-Facilitation of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of the Federal Republic of Germany jointly organized a High-Level Political Dialogue.

The event, which brought together ministers of forests and environment from Central Africa, as well as ministers from partner countries and representatives of international institutions, was co-chaired by:

• H.E. Ms. Calinie Mbarushimana, Minister of Environment of Burundi and current Chair of COMIFAC, represented by H.E. Mr. Jules Doret Ndongo, Minister of Forests and Wildlife of Cameroon;
• H.E. Dr. Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary at BMZ, Germany;
• Ambassadors Ms. Salina Grenet-Catalano and Dr. Aurélie Flore Koumba Pambo, Co-Facilitators of the CBFP on behalf of France and Gabon.

Structured and Constructive Exchanges

An intensive exchange session among participants was structured around the draft CBFP–COMIFAC Joint Political Declaration, guided by the following questions:

• What collective commitments can Central African countries make to attract greater public and private investment for the protection of forest ecosystems?
• How can fair, predictable, and sustainable financing be secured for the next five years?
• What could be the contribution of each country or organization to forest protection and sustainable use over the coming five years?

These fruitful discussions made it possible to review and consensually adopt the key objectives and core content of a new joint commitment between Central African countries and their partners for the conservation and sustainable management of Congo Basin forest ecosystems.

Reaffirmed Common Priorities

The ministers notably stressed:

• The need for an ambitious indeed very ambitious agreement, and the mobilization of new financial support from the international community, financial institutions, philanthropic actors, and the private sector;
• The importance of speaking with one voice at COP30 in Belém to ensure that the voice of the Congo Basin forests is heard;
• The definition of a common negotiation strategy to strengthen Central Africa’s position.

A Key Step Towards Belém

This dialogue marked an essential step in preparing an ambitious political declaration, consistent with the vision of the subregion’s Heads of State.

The exchanges also allowed progress towards establishing stronger medium- and long-term cooperation between Central African countries and their technical and financial partners.

📄 Download the speech of the Gabonese Co-Facilitator of the CBFP (pdf - 690 Ki)