Angola: Peace Talks On Eastern DRC Continue in Luanda

Sylvain Liechti / UN Photo
Members of the rebel militia group known as the M23 in Ester DRC (file photo).
22 August 2024
Angola Press Agency (Luanda)

Luanda — The ministerial delegations of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, under the mediation of Angola, will continue this Thursday in Luanda the negotiation of the Lasting and Definitive Peace Agreement for the conflict in eastern DRC, whose closure was initially scheduled for Wednesday.

The Ministerial meeting, which has been taking place since Tuesday behind closed doors, has been extended to today, without the reasons for its postponement having been given.

The proposal is the initiative of the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, as mediator appointed by the African Union, as part of recent working visits to Kigali and Kinshasa.

The document submitted to the parties aims at an understanding regarding a negotiated and peaceful solution to the conflict that prevails in the eastern region of the DRC, which worsened at the end of 2023.

The meeting, chaired by the Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, brings together the ministers of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Francophonie of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Théresé Kayikwamba Wagner, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Rwanda, Olivier Jean Patrick Nduhungirehe.

The meeting also takes place within the framework of the Luanda Process and is a consequence of the entry into force of the ceasefire between the parties, which has been in force since August 4.

Angola, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have made significant and coordinated efforts to find a definitive security and peace solution in eastern DRC.

Angola, as a mediator, has played a key role in facilitating political-diplomatic dialogue between Rwanda and the DRC, aimed at stabilizing this volatile Great Lakes region.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting on Tuesday, the Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, stressed the need for peace and security in the SADC region, an issue in which member states make a collective effort to maintain the climate of tranquility, which generally prevails in Southern Africa.

He said that the prevailing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a challenge that Angola has been facing with encouraging prospects.

Taking into account the understandings reached on the ceasefire between Rwanda and the DRC, in force since August 4, the head of Angolan diplomacy believes that only joint work between the parties can lead to concrete steps towards the negotiation and signing of a definitive peace agreement. ART/DOJ

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