Luanda - Angola on Tuesday in Luanda Province will host a summit of Heads of State and Government of Africa's political and economic regions to coordinate efforts for the pacification of the African continent, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The inter-regional meeting is part of the recommendations of the 11th extraordinary summit of heads of state of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), held on 3 March in Luanda, on the initiative of Angolan President Joao Lourenço.
Among other aspects, the Luanda mini-summit concluded that it was urgent, with the involvement of the African Union (AU) and the United Nation (UN), to improve the coordination and operationalisation of the mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire and the withdrawal of M23 rebel movement from the territories they have taken up in the DRC.
Tuesday's event was preceded by a meeting of ministers from countries of the ICGLR and the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in preparation for the summit.
At the opening of the meeting, which was held Monday, June, 26, the Angolan Foreign minister, Téte António, said that the summit aims at harmonizing regional engagements in order to avoid double efforts and improve initiatives and resources.
He reinforced Angola's commitment to supporting the peace efforts in the region, favouring the peaceful and negotiated resolution of the conflict.
The minister stressed that Angola, as acting chairman of the ICGLR, the African Union Champion for Peace and Reconciliation, as well as the peace mediator, has been carrying out a number of initiatives to stop tensions between the DRC and Rwanda.
To him, these initiatives have resulted, among other things, in the adoption of the Luanda Roadmap and the Joint Plan of Action for the Resolution of the Security Crisis in Eastern DRC with the aim of harmonising relations between the two neighbouring African countries.
However, several heads of state and government or their representatives are expected to take part of this summit. JFS/OHA/MRA/jmc
