Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the transition of power resulting from planned presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2017.

We welcome the political deal signed on 31 December between the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the main political parties. As I said in a statement on 6 January, it is imperative that this deal is implemented as soon as possible so that elections can take place this year. The UK will work to ensure that the elections will be free and fair and collaborate with international partners to support a peaceful transfer of power once the new President has been elected.