Security in the Democratic Republic of Congo was once again the topic of discussion at the tenth conference of the ICGLR (International Conference on the Great Lakes Region) held in Luanda, Angola. Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço took the opportunity to invite the President of the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi, to facilitate dialogue between his country and the Republic of Rwanda. Discussions focused on the analysis of the security situation in eastern DRC and Sudan.
The initiative of this conference follows the roadmap of Luanda relating to the situation of insecurity in the east of the DRC. In addition to the President of Angola and his Congolese counterpart, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, was also present to raise awareness on the situation in Khartoum in Sudan.
African leaders welcomed the holding of the upcoming quadripartite meeting, which will bring together the East African Community (EAC), the ICGLR and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), under the coordination of the African Union to try to find lasting solutions to the region’s security problems.
President Félix Tshisekedi took part in this conference with his ministers in charge of Defense and Regional Integration. The Heads of State and their representatives continued their work behind closed doors to produce a final communiqué, which should give more details on their strategies to strengthen security in the Great Lakes region.
Despite security challenges, President Tshisekedi is committed to developing the DRC’s economic potential by improving the business climate and attracting more foreign investment. This commitment is crucial to help provide an economic alternative to armed groups and thus end the conflicts in eastern DRC.
The security situation in the DRC remains critical, and the multiplication of armed conflicts in the east of the country requires international intervention to find viable solutions. But despite security challenges, the DRC is committed to developing its economic potential by improving the business climate and attracting more foreign investment.