Luanda — Foreign Minister Téte António said Thursday in Luanda that Angolan Head of State João Lourenço was surprised by Qatar's initiative to bring together Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Doha.
The Doha meeting took place on the same day that Angola (which is acting as a mediator in the conflict) was to begin direct peace talks between delegations from the DRC and the Rwanda-backed March 23 Movement (M23) rebels.
Speaking to the press on the occasion of the visit of the President of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, to the Angolan capital, the Angolan diplomat said that all efforts to resolve conflicts are welcome, but that "African problems should have an African solution".
"We were really surprised by the meeting between the presidents, which took place on the same day that the Democratic Republic of Congo sent a delegation to Luanda to meet with the M23," the diplomat said.
According to the minister, the continent has all the mechanisms, since there is a lot of investment in supra-regional organizations, especially those linked to the search for a solution to this conflict situation involving the DRC and Rwanda.
African Union Commission
Regarding the visit of the AUC president, the diplomat said that it focused on issues of peace and security on the African continent, as well as the general lines of Angola's chairmanship of the African Union.
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Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, former foreign minister of Djibouti, recently took over as chairman of the African Union Commission.
Based in Addis Ababa, the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the AUC is the executive organ responsible for the day-to-day management of the African Union.
As Chairman of the Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf acts as the executive director, legal representative and budget manager of the Commission.
He is responsible for implementing the decisions of the organs of the African Union, promoting its objectives and coordinating programs and policies with the regional economic communities.
He also supervises the functioning of the Headquarters and other offices of the Union and ensures general administrative and financial compliance.
The term of office of the President of the Commission is four years, renewable once, and he is elected by the Assembly of the African Union.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf leads a team composed of a Vice-President and eight Commissioners, each responsible for specific areas such as peace and security, political affairs, infrastructure, energy, among others. VIC/TED/AMP
