Africa-Press – Angola. The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, arrives in Luanda today for an official visit lasting a few hours, at the invitation of the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço.
The document states that Paul Kagame will be received, at the “4 de Fevereiro” International Airport, by the head of Angolan diplomacy, Téte António, and by a Reception Committee created for this purpose.
The meeting between President João Lourenço and Paul Kagame takes place around two weeks after the Angolan statesman held, also in Luanda, another meeting with President Félix Tshisekedi, through which the Congolese leader agreed to sit at the same table with Paul Kagame to find a solution to the peace and security crisis in Eastern DRC.
The preparation of this meeting is an initiative of President João Lourenço, as mediator appointed by the African Union to deal with that problem. Speaking to the press, at the end of the meeting between the two Heads of State, which lasted around three hours, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said the date and place of the meeting between Paul Kagame and Félix Tshisekedi had not yet been determined, but assured that the responsibilities for its materialization would be the responsibility of Angola, as mediator of the process.
“The meeting aims to end the prevailing crisis in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the return of sustainable peace between the two countries”, highlighted, at the time, the head of Angolan diplomacy, who also participated in the meeting.
One day before the opening of the 37th Conference of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, promoted, as Champion for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa, a Mini- Summit to address the situation in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This Summit, held on the biggest stage of African diplomacy and led by the Angolan statesman, brought together several Heads of State and Government present in the Ethiopian capital to participate in the African Union Summit.
The Mini-Summit aimed to relaunch the foundations for combining efforts with a view to establishing a new ceasefire in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the National Army and the M-23 rebel forces are engaged in harsh and bloody battles.
Following the Addis Ababa Mini-Summit, President João Lourenço held separate meetings the following day with Presidents Paul Kagame and Félix Tshisekedi to address the situation in that volatile region of the Great Lakes.
In his speech at the 37th Summit of the African Union, President João Lourenço summarized the actions taken to pacify the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, highlighting the two Mini-Summits held last year in the Angolan capital , with the aim of harmonizing and ensuring regular coordination of the Luanda and Nairobi processes and reinforcing the need to implement the Joint Action Plan on the Resolution of the Security Crisis in the Eastern region of the DRC, in order to alleviate the climate of tension and normalize political-diplomatic relations between the DRC and Rwanda.
“Despite all of this, we noted the worsening of the situation in the East of the DRC, with the attempted occupation, by the M-23, of new areas in that region, in clear violation of what was established in the Luanda and Nairobi processes, destroying all the efforts and initiatives developed in recent years”, highlighted the Angolan statesman.
The Luanda Roadmap is the document approved, in the Angolan capital, on July 6, 2022, during the Tripartite Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL), between Angola, DRC and Rwanda, which points out the paths to the pacification of Eastern DRC.
Among the various points contained in this document, signed by Presidents Paul Kagame, Félix Tshisekedi and João Lourenço, as acting president of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and representative of the African Union, the establishment of a climate of trust between the States of the Great Lakes Region, the creation of ideal conditions for dialogue and political consultation, with a view to resolving the security crisis in the East of the DRC, the normalization of political and diplomatic relations between the DRC and Rwanda, as well as the immediate cessation of hostilities.
The United Nations considered the Luanda Roadmap an important document for resolving the crisis in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, highlighting that it constitutes valuable support for ending the conflict.
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