Guests and representatives pose for a group photo at the ceremony. Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

An official flag raising ceremony marking the accession of the Republic of the Congo to the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) took place at the INBAR headquarters in Beijing on July 18. A number of high-level officials, including the Ambassador of the Republic of the Congo to China Daniel Owassa attended the event and gave a speech.

The Republic of the Congo is INBAR's 45th member state, and the 20th from Africa. Founded with only nine countries in 1997, INBAR has now grown to become a network of 45 member states, with regional offices in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Speaking at the ceremony, Owassa reflected on his country's hopes for membership. "In my country, bamboo and rattan are a common sight and a large part of local culture," he said, adding that many people use both bamboo and, especially, rattan, for their livelihoods, and for the creation of a large number of products. Owassa expressed the hope that Congo's membership of INBAR will help them to further integrate bamboo and rattan into their policies, programs and partnerships, in areas such as poverty alleviation, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

In his speech, INBAR Director General Ali Mchumo welcomed the Republic of the Congo to the INBAR family and expressed his hope that both the country and organization would benefit from each other. Mchumo also talked about the membership services that the organization provides. Mchumo said that INBAR was and always will be an important mechanism for enabling South-South cooperation around the world. "There are 44 of its 45 member states [that] are developing countries from the Global South, and with the support of China, INBAR's host country, INBAR has helped countries to build new climate-smart industries that support sustainable livelihoods, reduce poverty, and protect natural environment," he said.

Speaking on behalf of INBAR's Board of Trustees, Jiang Zehui, co-chair of the Board, said that the Republic of the Congo's accession was the latest in a positive line of developments for bamboo and rattan in Africa, including the announcement made by President Xi Jinping last year of a new China-Africa Bamboo Centre.

Owassa and Mchumo raised the Republic of the Congo's national flag outside the INBAR headquarters.