The World Bank will provide the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with 1.5 billion U.S. dollars of aid in the next three years to help the country with its reconstruction, President Paul Wolfowitz said on Thursday.

Wolfowitz, who arrived here on Thursday, said the World Bank will continue to aid the country's infrastructure construction, power generation and water supply.

The DRC, which is one of the poorest countries in the world, is still facing the challenge of economic reconstruction and peace consolidation after its civil war, the president said, adding that the international community will help the Congolese people fulfil their mission of national reconstruction and economic renaissance.

Last July, the DRC held its first democratic elections in over four decades, which were meant to herald a new era following years of chaotic mismanagement and the 1998-2003 war.

The new government, led by President Joseph Kabila, is tasked with bringing peace to the volatile east, where marauding militias still roam more than three years after the official end of fighting.

Wolfowitz welcomed the DRC's successful peace process, saying it serves as a model for peace process of democracy in countries which are immersed in civil wars.

During his meeting with Kabila on Thursday, Wolfowitz praised the efforts made by the new government and Kabila himself to maintain stability and improve people's lives in the war-torn country.

The civil war in the DRC killed an estimated 4 million people, many of them through violence, hunger, and disease triggered by the fighting.

Source: Xinhua