New York, 2 April 2026 – The Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations, Ambassador Zénon Mukongo Ngay, received Ambassador Neil Parsan, Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago, at the Permanent Mission of the DRC in New York on Thursday, 2 April 2026.
This courtesy visit took place in the context of Trinidad and Tobago’s prospective election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2027–2028 term. On that occasion, Ambassador Neil Parsan sought the advice of his Congolese counterpart on the handling of African issues within the Council.
The discussions notably focused on the dynamics of the A3 group, currently composed of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Liberia. It was recalled that in 2025, the group had taken the form of an A3 Plus, with the participation of a Latin American and Caribbean country, namely Guyana. Following the end of Guyana’s term, the group returned to its traditional configuration of three African members.
With Trinidad and Tobago’s upcoming entry into the Security Council in mind, and in light of its willingness to work closely with African countries, Ambassador Zénon Mukongo Ngay made several recommendations to his guest.
In particular, he encouraged Trinidad and Tobago to designate, as of now, an expert to begin attending meetings of the African Group, in order to gain a better understanding of the issues, working methods and the continent’s peace and security priorities.
The Permanent Representative of the DRC also expressed his readiness to organize, in August 2027, immediately after the DRC’s presidency of the Security Council, a technical team-to-team meeting between the teams of the two Missions, with a view to facilitating the sharing of experience and best practices.
Lastly, Ambassador Neil Parsan was invited to take part in the Oran Process, an annual African Union consultation framework aimed at strengthening preparedness and coordination on African peace and security issues, while also fostering a better understanding of the links between the African Union and the United Nations.
This meeting provided an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of dialogue, consultation and anticipation in preparing future members of the Security Council that will be called upon to work on African issues.
By way of reminder, the DRC is returning to the Council for the third time, having previously served two terms, from 1982 to 1983 and from 1990 to 1991.