Lusaka - The Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Elias Magosi, praised Saturday, in Lusaka, Zambia, the commitment of the Angolan President, João Lourenço, towards peace and stability on the continent, particularly in the southern region.
When delivering the welcome speech at the opening of the Extraordinary Summit of the SADC Double Troika, the official referred, essentially,
to the leadership of the Angolan statesman in the ambit of the Roadmap on the Pacification Process of the Eastern Region of the Democratic Republic
of Congo ( DRC), also known as the Luanda Process.
Elias Magosi said SADC thanks the President of Angola and champion of the African Union for peace and reconciliation, João Lourenço, for leading this Luanda Process, having expressed confidence that, with the support of the organization, collective efforts will have effects and bring normality in eastern D.R Congo.
The Angolan Head of State, who attended this high-level meeting in his capacity as Acting Chairman of SADC, has dedicated himself to finding solutions for the pacification of the continent, with emphasis on eastern DRC. Among various actions, there are summits in Luanda, such as the ICGLRTripartite forum, involving Angola, DRC and Rwanda, aimed at finding more objective solutions to the situation in the east of the DRC, which resulted in the roadmap for pacification.
The points of the document highlight the establishment of a climate of trust between the States of the Great Lakes Region, the creation of ideal conditions for dialogue and political consultation and the normalization of political and diplomatic relations between the DRC and Rwanda, as well as the immediate cessation of hostilities.
On the other hand, the executive secretary considered the security situation to still be worrying, although there has been progress in combating
terrorism and acts of violent extremism in Cabo Delgado, through the SADC mission in Mozambique (SAMIM). He pointed out the resurgence of armed groups, including the M23, a fact that has caused great misery for the people of the eastern region of the DRC, with more than three million displaced people, including women, girls and children.
Elias Magosi advocated, however, continued work, in the spirit of solidarity, to address common security threats and create an enabling environment for the socio-economic development and prosperity of the region.
The meeting took place, behind closed doors, at the Mulungushi International Conference Center, in the city of Lusaka, under the guidance of the President of Zambia, and the SADC Organ for Cooperation in the Areas of Politics, Defense and Security, Hakainde Hichilema.
The gathering analyzed, among other aspects, the latest developments of community forces in the provinces of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, and Kivo, in eastern DRC, where the regional organization highlighted SAMIDRC and SAMIMI, respectively.
Participating were presidents of the countries that make up the double troika of the Organ and SADC, Zambia, Tanzania and Namibia, on the one hand and Angola, DRC and Zimbabwe, on the other, plus Mozambique, representatives of troop contributing countries for the SAMIDRC regional missions and SAMIM, ministers and senior officials from Member States. VC/ADR/TED/jmc
