Luanda hosts SADC summit dedicated to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday

Luanda will host a Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit next Saturday, dedicated to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to information released by the Angolan Presidency's press center.

The decision was made on Tuesday in a virtual meeting chaired by the Angolan head of state, João Lourenço, in his capacity as acting president of SADC.

The security challenges in the eastern region of the DR Congo and the country's general elections next December are topics to be addressed at this meeting of heads of state from this region.

Angola has been acting as a mediator in the pacification process in the DR Congo, most notably last year's tripartite summit with Angola, Rwanda, and the DR Congo, where what became known as the "Luanda Roadmap" was approved.

The document aims to create conditions for dialogue and political consultation, with a view to resolving the security crisis in the east of the country, normalizing political and diplomatic relations between the DR Congo and Rwanda, immediately ceasing hostilities, creating an Ad-Hoc Observation Mechanism to monitor compliance with the agreements and withdrawing positions occupied by the M23 rebel movement in Congolese territory, among other aspects.

This year, the National Assembly approved the deployment of an Angolan contingent to support and maintain peace and ensure security in the M23's cantonment areas in the eastern region of the DR Congo, consisting of 450 Angolan Armed Forces personnel.