Africa-Press – Angola. The Republic of Angola, based on its experience, has sought to help sister countries to overcome the conflicts that affect them, through dialogue and the search for peace, said this Tuesday, in Luanda, the Angolan Head of State, John Lawrence.
The Angolan statesman made this statement while speaking at the opening act of the IX Extended Consultative Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which heads of diplomatic and consular missions participate.
On the occasion, he advocated that with peace and stability, countries in still latent conflicts will dedicate all available energies and resources to the exclusive service of the economic and social development of the population.
“The Great Lakes region, which encompasses a considerable number of countries, is very rich in mineral, water, forestry and arable land resources, whose development has been delayed for decades by the almost permanent instability that reigns there”, lamented the President Angolan in a reference to the political-military situation experienced in some African countries.
According to João Lourenço, the populations of these countries are not benefiting from the great existing potential, whether from an economic, social or commercial point of view.
He said that, although in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) various groups are active, today a window of opportunity has opened for the cantonment, disarmament and reintegration of elements of the armed group M23.
With regard to the ceasefire in force for about a month in the east of the DRC, President João Lourenço stated that “everything must be done to implement, in fact, the necessary steps, with the urgency that the case requires so as not to miss the window of opportunity that opened up”.
He recalled that Angola was the victim of the invasion and occupation of part of its territory, by the army of the former Apartheid regime in South Africa.
Faced with that scenario, he said, the Angolans fought on the ground and won the successive battles that culminated in the battle of Cuito Cuanavale, but that perhaps definitive peace had not been achieved for Angola, the Independence of Namibia, the release of Nelson Mandela and the fall of the Apartheid regime, “if we had not negotiated and signed the New York Accords”.
“That is why Angolan diplomacy defends the negotiated and peaceful resolution of conflicts, whatever their size and scope and on any continent”, he said.
Conflicts in Europe and the Middle East
João Lourenço acknowledged that the world is following with great concern the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine and the annexation of territories from an independent country, “a situation that Angola condemns”.
In this sense, the Angolan head of state called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, to create the environment for the start of negotiations, with a view to establishing a lasting peace and avoiding the escalation of a war that has already caused the greatest humanitarian, food and energy crisis that the world has known since the end of World War II in 1945.
For the Angolan statesman, the war between Russia and Ukraine represents the greatest threat to world peace and security, due to the direct and indirect involvement of the major international powers.
According to the President of the Republic, a world without rules is extremely dangerous for everyone, even for those who consider themselves stronger and invincible.
He underlined that all the most recent facts that occurred in the international arena demonstrate the urgency of restructuring the United Nations Security Council, guaranteeing the presence, as permanent members, of regions of the planet that are currently excluded, such as Africa and Latin and South America, whose voice cannot be neglected because it can be decisive in making decisions on key issues such as peace and security, food security, environmental protection, public health and others that have to do with the survival of all at a global level.
“Safe and lasting solutions have not yet been found for situations of dangerous and prolonged conflicts such as those on the Korean peninsula and the Israeli-Palestinian one, whose Security Council resolutions have been disrespected and ignored,” he added.
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