African leaders in Angola to discuss East DRC tensions
The president of the African Union considered today that the deterioration of the situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo) “destabilizes the country” and defended efforts to make the country “a source of happiness and not of conflict”.
Azali Assoumani, who was speaking at the opening of the Quadripartite Summit of Heads of State and Government on the pacification of eastern DR Congo, taking place in Luanda, said that the prevailing situation “is a concern of the region, the continent and the rest of the world”.
“The deterioration of the humanitarian and security situation in the territory of the DRC is destabilizing this country”, said Assoumani, stressing that the crisis is particularly worrying as it occurs in a territory with many undeniable economic and human riches.
For the acting president of the African Union (AU), the destabilization in eastern DRC “could lead all of Africa on the same path”, thus defending the “intensification of joint and active actions to reach solutions in favor of a peaceful and prosperous Congo”.
“And for that we need to have political, diplomatic and security solutions that are adapted, effective, innovative so that we can reinforce them in order to avoid duplication of efforts and also competition between regional mechanisms”, he stressed.
The need for pacification in eastern DR Congo, where military tension persists and this country opposes Rwanda, is the focus of this summit of heads of state and government of the four African regional blocs.
High-level representatives of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC), the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICRGL) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) participate in this summit in Luanda.
“The strategic objectives of this summit are to agree on adapting a joint framework and modality for the implementation and monitoring of these initiatives for peace in eastern DR Congo”, said Azali Assoumani, also head of state of Comoros.
The African leader recalled that the DRCongo is some country rich in diverse resources, but that the local populations live in extreme poverty, mainly because of the conflict, considering that the regional blocs must be actors of peace and stability.
“That’s why we must put everything in motion to reverse this tendency to make the DRCongo a source of happiness and not a source of conflict and that is why we have to play as actors of peace, stability and development”, he stressed.
Azali Assoumani also saluted the Angolan President, João Lourenço, and the Angolan diplomacy for their “efforts, engagement and permanent availability at the service of harmony and robust coordination of the security crisis” in eastern DRCongo.
For his part, the president of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahammat, said that the meeting, under the aegis of the body he represents, “is a new testimony” of his “unfailing commitment to” finding “African solutions to African problems”.
“As I always say, the great African lakes constitute the heart that beats in the heart of the continent”, he pointed out, referring that the AU is committed to contributing to the restoration of peace and security in the region.
“And that for us is imperative to respect our principles, to be faithful to our project to silence the guns”, he pointed out.
Moussa Faki Mahammat also considered, in his speech, that the need to coordinate efforts at the level of regional organizations “is imposed with much more urgency” in order to have “much more efficiency and a very parsimonious management of resources”.
“This need for coordination is necessary, taking into account the global and African crises, including the most serious crises such as the current Sudanese one, it is also a financial challenge for us to place political and military initiatives as an imperative of the foreground”, he concluded.
Burundi, Zimbabwe, Gabon, DRCongo, Rwanda, Comoros, Namibia, representatives of the AU and the United Nations participate in this summit in Luanda, which seeks mechanisms for effective peace in the eastern region of DRCongo.
Africanews/Hauwa M.
