On July 27 in St. Petersburg, on the sidelines of the second Russia-Africa Summit, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Russian Federation Ivan Vangu Ngimbi signed an Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on visa-free travel for holders of diplomatic and service passports.

The signing of this document clearly demonstrates the intention of Russia and the DRC to further strengthen mutually beneficial multifaceted cooperation, including improvement of the legal framework of traditionally friendly bilateral relations.

Under the agreement, citizens of the state of one party who are holders of valid diplomatic and service passports have the right to enter, leave, transit and stay in the territory of the state of the other party without visas for 90 days from the date of entry.

The agreement will be effective upon the expiry of 90 days from the date of receipt through diplomatic channels of the last written notification that the parties have fulfilled the necessary domestic procedures. This agreement will significantly simplify the procedure for the exchange of official delegations and will contribute to further development of Russian-Congolese mutually beneficial co-operation in the political, economic, scientific and cultural fields.