Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane is expected to represent the South African Government at the 5th Ordinary Summit of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
The summit, scheduled for 15 January in Luanda, Angola, will be preceded by the Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee Meeting on 14 January. Angola will assume the chair of the ICGLR at the summit.
The issues to be discussed by the Member States of the ICGLR will include peace, stability and development in the region, with a focus on the current situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan.
The ICGLR members are Angola, Burundi, CAR, Republic of Congo, DRC, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
South Africa remains committed to working with the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the ICGLR in addressing national reconciliation; post-conflict reconstruction and development.
The country also remains committed in addressing security sector reform; disarmament; demobilisation and re-integration; as well as institutional capacity-building and economic development in the region.
On 4 November 2013, South Africa hosted a Joint Summit of SADC and the ICGLR to discuss, amongst others, the implementation of the Framework for Peace, Security and Cooperation for the DRC and the region. – SAnews.gov.za
