Africa-Press – Angola. Leaders of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) are expected to meet next Saturday in Kinshasa, DRC. for another ordinary summit, marking the end of Angola’s term as head of the organization.
With an agenda dominated by peace and security issues in the region, this 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the ICGLR will witness the passing of the presidency gavel to the host Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a two-year term. To prepare for the meeting, the Angolan minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, has been in Kinshasa since Wednesday, where he chaired the 19th Ordinary Session of the ICGLR Inter-ministerial Committee on Thursday.
The ministerial session, held in one of the hotels in the Congolese capital, analyzed the executive secretary’s report on the organization’s achievements, challenges, and prospects, before adopting the reports from previous meetings held in preparation for the summit.
The documents discussed at this 19th meeting of the Inter-ministerial Committee also included updated information on the security situation in the region, presented by the president of the ICGLR Committee of Ministers of Defence. Speaking as the outgoing president of the Inter-ministerial Committee, Téte António acknowledged that the region faces significant challenges, such as latent conflicts, humanitarian crises, and difficulties in consolidating lasting peace.
In his view, the ICGLR’s efforts should focus on strengthening the Committee’s actions and expanding the effectiveness of its joint actions, including crisis mediation, combating the root causes of conflict, and promoting social inclusion and economic development initiatives.
He recalled that Angola played a proactive and responsible role in mediating complex crises, working with the African Union, the United Nations, and regional and international development partners, particularly in the crises in eastern DRC, the Central African Republic (CAR), Sudan, and South Sudan.
According to minister Téte António, these actions aimed primarily to neutralize non-state armed groups, restore state authority in the affected areas, and strengthen collaboration and control in the border regions of the DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda. Results achieved Among the results of this “tireless search for lasting solutions,” the Angolan official highlighted the drafting and approval of the Joint Roadmap for Peace in the CAR, as an important milestone towards stability and reconciliation in the country, as well as the Adoption of the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for eastern DRC.
According to Téte António, the latter serves as a guide for the implementation of the Harmonized Plan for the Neutralization of the FDLR and the Plan for the Disengagement of Forces and lifting of defense measures in Rwanda. In the natural resources and mining governance sector, he said, Angola played a central role in strengthening the Regional Certification Mechanism (RCM), promoting ethics, transparency and traceability in the value chains of conflict minerals (3TG).
In the sphere of gender promotion and social inclusion, Angola acted decisively in the elaboration of the 2nd Generation Regional Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security (2026–2030), he said. Téte António considers that these advances represent a legacy of action, dialogue and tangible results, which strengthen the credibility of the ICGLR and project a shared vision of peace, stability and sustainable development for the Great Lakes Region.
Comprising 12 member states, the ICGLR is an intergovernmental organization, founded in 2000 in Tanzania, based on the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the region. Its purpose is to promote peace, security, stability, and sustainable development in the Great Lakes region. The ICGLR member states are Angola, Burundi, Congo, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Source: ANGOP
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