Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has returned to South Africa from Angola, after a visit to the country on an invitation of Angolan President Eduardo Dos Santos to attend the Extraordinary Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
The Presidency on Tuesday said President Zuma has described the summit, which was held in Luanda, as fruitful.
According to the Presidency, President Zuma said the summit provided direction with regards to solving the immediate challenges of peace and stability in some parts of the Great Lakes region.
South Africa had an observer status at the ICGLR summit which was chaired by President Dos Santos.
”Leaders at the Summit discussed thoroughly the security situation in countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), the Republic of Burundi and the Republic of South Sudan, as well as issues of terrorism.
“With regard to the current security situation in Burundi, President Zuma said the summit strongly condemned the attempted coup d’état that occurred last week,” said the Presidency.
President Zuma said the summit further agreed that the postponement of elections should not have a timeframe, as there was unrest in the country and the elections should be postponed indefinitely until there’s stability, which would allow the elections to be free and fair.
“We have also agreed that a delegation of Heads of State from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa will visit Burundi in the shortest possible time to evaluate the situation and contribute to the peaceful resolution of the current situation,” said President Zuma.
The Presidency said the summit further called on all parties in Burundi to expeditiously work towards the restoration of peace and stability.
“Regarding the Democratic Republic of Congo, the summit encouraged the government to neutralise the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) and other negative forces in the Eastern DRC.
“The Summit has also agreed to convene a joint ICGLR/ECCAS Summit on the situation in the CAR and urged stakeholders in CAR to expedite the national reconciliation process in view of the forthcoming elections in the country,” said the Presidency.
The President was accompanied by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. - SAnews.gov.za
