This part all sounds a bit serious even after most of a bottle of red...
There is a problem of lack of communication and sincere collaboration on the part of Cominière with the government and the lawyers in charge of the case for some time for reasons to be discovered by the government of the Republic.
Our organizations remind all Congolese stakeholders, especially at Cominière and the supervisory Ministry, to settle this important dispute that: - International arbitrations, such as that on our lithium today sought by everyone, relate to billions of dollars and the fees for first-class firms that master the filesa re set in several millions of dollars.
The procedures often last several years with cross exchanges of two parties with 90 days interval. The public hearing is held when the parties are finally satisfied with the clarification provided to the 3 judges, therefore the hearing for Monday, January
16, 2023 has been fixed after consultation with the lawyers of two parties of and cannot be easily postponed at the request of a (Congolese) party if not in the event of force majeure as was the case for this case in 2020 with Covid-19 causing the two-year postponement.
In case of absence in Paris in 3 days, which is the worst case as in the DIG-OIL file of sad memory, the Cominière and the Democratic Republic of Congo risk being inflicted damages of several hundred millions of US dollars during an election year with all the risks of putting into turmoil the development of a major mining project awaited by the whole world.
Considering the major stakes for the country during the public hearing of January 16, 2023 at the international Court of Ar bitration in Paris, it is more than ar national obligation that the Congolese party go there this weekend well equipped to defend the interests of the Republic and its population.