Pretoria – Peace, stability and development will top the agenda when President Jacob Zuma attends the 5th Ordinary Summit of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
In a statement, the Presidency said Zuma was scheduled to fly out on Tuesday to attend the summit on the Great Lakes Region, which kicks-off on Wednesday.
The summit comes at a time that the region is plagued by a lot of political instability that has seen civil wars between governments and rebels in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan – military stand-offs that have claimed a lot of lives.
The Presidency said on Monday: “The summit, which will be chaired by President José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, is anticipated to discuss peace, stability and development in the region, with a focus on the current situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan.
“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; security sector reform; disarmament; demobilisation and re-integration; as well as institutional capacity-building and economic development in the region."
International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane will accompany Zuma to the summit, which will also discuss, amongst others, the implementation of the Framework for Peace, Security and Cooperation for the DRC and the region.
The ICGLR members are Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. – SAnews.gov.za
