Minister Nduhungirehe, DRC’s Kayikwamba Wagner walk with the facilitator Angola’s Minister of External Relations, Amb. Téte António, ahead of the 6th Tripartite meeting.
Ministerial delegations from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the facilitation of Angola, on Monday, met in Luanda, Angola’s capital, under the auspices of the Government of Angola, to analyze the issue of Security and Peace in the East of the DRC.
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe and DRC’s Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, led their respective delegations in the talks facilitated by Angola’s Minister of External Relations, Amb. Téte António, as part of the Luanda Process, to resolve the misunderstandings between the two countries.
Angola continues to lead the ‘Luanda Process’, aimed at resolving the recurring conflict that has gripped the Eastern DRC for nearly three decades now, complicated by more than 250 armed groups operating in the country, and the M23 rebellion, caused by decades of neglect and persecution of Congolese Tutsi communities.
Minister Nduhungirehe gives a thumbs up during the meeting.
The 6th Tripartite follows the November 5 establishment of the Reinforced Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism, in line with the implementation of the decisions of the 5th Tripartite, held on October 12, in Luanda, Angola.
Ministers Nduhungirehe and Kayikwamba Wagner, with the facilitation of Angola’s Minister of External Relations, Amb. Téte António, launched the mechanism, putting together a team of military experts to follow through on the implementation of what is known as the “Proposed Concept of Operations” (CONOPS) technical report which was submitted as directed by the summit.
The Reinforced Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism is composed of 18 military officers from Angola, three from Rwanda and three from DRC. The 6th Tripartite will review the progress in the implementation of the resolutions.
The officials also touched on the technical report by military experts, indicating the roadmap of what Rwanda and DRC will do, to address the issues between the two countries, the lay ground for a peace process, as directed by the 5th Tripartite Ministerial Meeting for Peace and Security in the eastern part of DRC.
The talks are facilitated by Angola.
The 6th Tripartite meeting is expected to come up with resolutions which will be submitted to the Heads of State Summit for consideration.
Under the proposed solutions, DRC has an obligation to fight the Democratic Forces of the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), while Rwanda is also obliged to scale down its security measures along the border.
The sixth meeting comes after a shaky ceasefire which was severally violated by DRC government forces and allies while the M23 rebels insisted that they had no option but to continue defending their positions when attacked.
Amb. Tete chaired the meeting.
Amb. Nduhungirehe is leading the Rwandan delegation.
