Luanda - The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, on Sunday expressed his concern about the lack of consensus on the issue of the M-23, a crucial and fracturing aspect of relations between the DRC and Rwanda, but reiterated his commitment to the search for peace in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The President of the Republic of Angola, Facilitator appointed by the African Union, aiming at the normalization of political-diplomatic, cooperation and security relations between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Rwanda, called a Tripartite Summit for December 15, in Luanda, and regretted its postponement, at the request of one of the parties at the last minute.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Summit aimed to consider the Progress Report reflecting the main results obtained within the framework of the Negotiation Process carried out by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs/Foreign Affairs of the respective Countries, since March 2024, as well as the Draft Peace Agreement presented by the Facilitator to the Parties in August 2024.
The Facilitator congratulates the Parties for the significant progress achieved and consensus reached, specifically in the areas of the Ceasefire, Preparation of the Harmonized Plan for the Neutralization of the FDLR and the Disengagement of Forces/Lifting of Defense Measures of Rwanda,) Operationalization of the MVA-R and Preparation of the Concept of Operations (CONOPs).
However, during the Ministerial Meeting of December 14, there were differences of views regarding the resolution of the M-23 issue, the only pending issue for the finalization and consolidation of the aforementioned Draft Peace Agreement.
Meanwhile, President João Lourenço held a meeting with the Head of State of the DRC, Felix Tshisekedi, and the former President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, Facilitator of the Nairobi Process, with whom he discussed the perspectives related to the Nairobi Process and the resolution of the M-23 issue.
Faced with this scenario, the Angolan President reiterates his firm commitment to the effective search for peace and security in the Eastern Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and urges the parties to privilege the interest of their peoples and the common good, with a view to achieving a lasting solution to the conflict that has prevailed in that subregion for more than 30 years. ART/DOJ
