Luanda – The Government of the United States of America praised this Tuesday the commitment of the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, to peacekeeping and stability in the African continent, especially in the Central Region as well as in the Great Lakes.
The acknowledgement was made by the United States (US) Assistant Secretary of State, Ms Wendy Ruth Sherman during a telephone conversation with the minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António.
The conversation served to address issues related to bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as review multilateral issues.
Wendy Ruth Sherman congratulated the recent visit of minister Téte António to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda in the scope of the Roadmap for the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) for peace in the east of the DRC, adopted at the Luanda Tripartite Summit.
The Great Lakes Region tension rose at the beginning of this year between the neighbouring countries of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In March this year, fighting began between the DRC and the 23 March Movement (M23), which according to Kinshasa is supported by the neighbouring country.
The fighting between DRC and the neighbouring countries of Rwanda and Uganda is old.
Angola is the Chairman of the International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), so it has multiplied initiatives to pacify the region.
The Head of State, João Lourenço, as the ICGLR Chairman, was appointed by the African Union to mediate the conflict.
ICGLR was created with the objective to resolve peace and security issues after political turnmoils that marked the region in 1994.
The ICGLR member countries are Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville).
