Belgium's King Philippe tells students to exploit mineral wealth

During his landmark visit to DRC, King Philippe of Belgium adressed congolese students at the Lubumbashi university in the south east. The monarch encouraged the youth of one of the major universities of the former belgian colony to look to the future and take advantage of their country's hidden wealth "We are very honoured to receive the King of Belgium in our country, the DRC. He did not hesitate to visit Lubumbashi and today we receive him a the best university", said Heritier Ngwej, student at the University of Lubumbashi.

In his speech, King Philippe also urged students to exploit DRC's enormous mineral abundance for it's own benefit. "Dear students, this future is yours. Congo possesses plenty of wealth in its subsoil. It is up to you to get the most value out of this natural richness, in your own country, for the benefit of the Congolese people, thanks to the skills you will have acquired.", declared King Philippe of Belgium at the podium.

Lubumbashi is the main city in the DRC's copper and cowbalt-rich southeast.

Philippe aknowledged this week the colonial regime had inflincted pain and humiliation  through a mixture of “paternalism, discrimination and racism”.

On Sunday, the Belgian king will visit the clinic of gynaecologist Denis Mukwege, co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against sexual violence, in the eastern city of Bukavu.

Phillipe also spoke about the agriculture potential. The DRC's rainforest is the second largest in the world