Democratic Republic of Congo President Fèlix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame both attended a mini-summit to discuss the ongoing insecurities in the eastern region.
The mini-summit held on Friday, 16 February at the African Union’s (AU) Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Peace and Security Building in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, was attended by five (5) out of the ten (10) heads of state invited.
Angolan Presidents Joao Lourenço was appointed by the AU to organize and as mediator in renewed dialogue between the DRC and Rwanda.
Lourenço chaired that meeting that was attended by both Tshisekedi, who came directly from the airport, and Kagame with Kenyan head of state William Ruto and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa also in attendance while the other presidents were represented by senior representatives.
President Lourenço indicated that this initiative has been brought about with the aim of relaunching the peace process which had experienced a setback following the recent escalation of violence that has led to disastrous humanitarian and economic consequences for the Congolese population.
“The objective of this summit is to reflect together with a view to obtaining a ceasefire between the DRC and the M23 and to attempt a possible direct dialogue between the heads of state of Rwanda and the DRC because the situation is deteriorating and there is a risk of conflagration in the sub-regions of the EAC and SADC”, said the Angolan president as quoted by the presidential communication unit of the DRC.
The rest of the mini-summit continues behind closed doors with each one between Tshisekedi and Kagame set to speak, the former expected to do so first.
The mini-summit is being held on the sidelines of the 37th ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the African Union scheduled for February 17 and 18, 2024 in Addis Ababa under the theme: “Educating an Africa adapted to the 21st century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to education. inclusive, lifelong, quality and relevant learning in Africa”.
