Windhoek, Namibia – His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has held a meeting on Sunday with the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, and Malawi to discuss restoring peace and security in eastern DRC.
The leaders met in Windhoek, Namibia, continuing talks from a previous engagement in Addis Ababa during the recent African Union Summit.
Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of DRC, Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, and Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi attended the meeting as they all arrive to take part of the funeral service of the former Namibian President Hage Geingob has died at the age of 82.
It comes just few days after an engagement between the heads of state that took place in Addis Ababa on the margins of the recently held #AUSummit.
Their countries have all contributed troops to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the DRC. The eastern part of DRC has faced much unrest and conflict despite the presence of the peacekeeping mission.
In their talks, the four presidents explored ways to strengthen the regional response and cooperation to bring stability to eastern DRC. No further details were immediately provided on the specific outcomes or next steps agreed to during the high-level meeting.
However, the gathering of these key leaders signals an ongoing, concerted focus on resolving the long-running instability in eastern DRC that has resulted in massive displacement and human suffering in the region.
Further engagements are expected as the leaders continue coordinating a collective regional response.
