Africa-Press – Lesotho. THE East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) held a Joint Extraordinary Virtual Summit of Heads of State and Government on August 13, 2025, to advance efforts toward peace and stability in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
According to a communique posted on Tuesday in the EAC Secretariat, the high-level meeting was cochaired by President of Kenya and EAC Chairperson Dr William Ruto and President of Zimbabwe and outgone SADC Chairperson Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa.
It brought together leaders and senior representatives from across the two regional blocs to evaluate progress after the previous joint summits held in February and March this year.
The summit welcomed the commitment by DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame to pursue peaceful dialogue in addressing the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC. It praised the spirit of cooperation among regional leaders and urged the continuation of African-led solutions.
The summit appointed former Botswana President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi to join the panel of facilitators guiding the mediation process. The leaders commended the panel for accepting their role in tackling the multi-layered security and humanitarian challenges in the region.
In a major step, the joint summit endorsed the merger of the EAC and SADC peace frameworks, the Nairobi and Luanda Processes into a unified, inclusive African-led mediation effort. This consolidated structure will include the African Union (AU) mediator and the EAC-SADC panel of facilitators.
The summit approved several foundational documents, including a framework for merging the two regional processes, terms of reference for the five-member panel of facilitators, a process design for inclusive mediation, a proposed structure for an independent secretariat and a resource mobilisation strategy to support the initiative.
It also resolved to merge technical secretariats from the AU Commission, EAC and SADC into a single operational unit, to be led by the AU Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Leaders called for the immediate mobilisation of resources, including humanitarian aid to be coordinated by the AU Commission. They stressed the importance of aligning this process with other initiatives such as the Washington Accord 2025 and the Alpha Declaration of Principles.
The AU was tasked with communicating the summit’s outcomes to all member states and ensuring continued coordination and transparency across all stakeholders.
The joint summit mandated the Co-Chairs of EAC and SADC to oversee the implementation of all resolutions adopted since the inaugural joint meeting in February 2025.
The aim is to establish a cohesive and accountable mechanism for sustained peace in eastern DRC. The summit expressed gratitude to the AU Commission, EAC and SADC Secretariats for their preparatory work and leadership. It also commended all regional leaders for their contributions to the peace process.
Heads of State and highranking representatives from Kenya, Zimbabwe, DRC, Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, South Sudan and Somalia attended the summit.
The conflict in eastern DRC has escalated in recent years, driven by a complex mix of political instability, armed groups and crossborder tensions. Regional leaders have intensified mediation efforts to resolve the crisis through homegrown, African-led solutions rooted in diplomacy and unity.
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