Luanda – Angolan head of State João Lourenço received Saturday the ministers of Foreign Affairs of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Christophe Pen’Apala and from Rwanda Vicent Biruta.
The meeting was meant to mediate the political and military tensions between those countries.
The meeting, attended by the head of Angolan diplomacy, Téte António, is part of efforts to seek a peaceful solution to the situation on the border between the DRC and Rwanda.
Tension between both countries has grown in recent months, after the resumption of fighting between the DRC army and the M23 movement last March, in which the DRC authorities accuse neighbouring country (Rwanda) of fueling the conflict.
At the end of the audience, held at the Presidential Palace in Luanda, the minister Téte António stated that the meeting with the Angolan Head of State outlined guidelines for the Tripartite Meeting.
The Tripartite Meeting gathered the top diplomats from the three countries (DRC, Angola and Rwanda) and experts of the intelligence services, held Saturday in Luanda.
Last Wednesday, the Angolan Head of State João Lourenço described the latest events on the border between the DRC and Rwanda as worrying.
President João Lourenço expressed this concern when he delivered his speech at the Bureau Meeting of the Assembly of the African Union (AU).
At the time, the Angolan statesman insisted on the need for the parties to dialogue.
He acknowledged that there was no environment for a meeting at the level of the Heads of State from the DRC and Rwanda, due to the existing tension.
Angola presides over the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), a geographic block to which the Democratic Congo belongs.
In this condition, the Angolan Head of State João Lourenço mandated by the African Union to mediate the conflict, has multiplied initiatives to achieve peace.
Source: Angola Press News Agency
