Central Africa: Angola Seeks Consensus to Solve Situation in Great Lakes Region - Defence Minister

Source: Angola Press

Luanda, 3 September 2014- The National Defence minister, JoãoLourenço, said last Tuesday in Luanda that Angola has been seeking consensus for a better presidency of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), with a view to finding common positions to solve the crisis in the region.

JoãoLourenço said so to the press, at the 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, in Luanda, on his arrival from Bujumbura, capital of Burundi, where he conveyed a verbal message from the Angolan Head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos, to the Burundian President, Pierre Nkurunziza.

The Angolan Defence minister revealed that the message conveyed to President Nkurunnziza is related to the situation of peace and security in the Great Lakes Region, since Angola is the current chair of the ICGLR.

"To preside with efficiency it is necessary to find consensus, and this is what Angola is seeking to do, by consulting some heads of State of the region, so that we can find common stances that can lead us more quickly to the solutions and put an end to the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic (CAR)", JoãoLourenço explained.

With the same goal, the Defence minister travelled last weekend to Kigali, Rwanda, where he handed over a message from President Eduardo dos Santos to the Rwandese Head of State, Paul Kagame.

Angola, Burundi and Rwanda are members of the ICGLR, whose rotating presidency is being held by President José Eduardo dos Santos, since last January 15, this year, when it was held the Fifth Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the ICGLR.

The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) also includes the Central African Republic (CAR), Republic of the Congo, The Democratic REpublçic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.

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