Angola’s engagement in search for peaceful solutions to various crises on the continent, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC), was highlighted on Wednesday.
The country’s commitment was expressed by Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Esmeralda Mendonça in New York, during a meeting with the Permanent Representative of the DRC to the UN, Georges Nzogola Ntalaja.
Angolan official called for the need to comply with the Luanda Roadmap and the Nairobi Process to find peaceful solutions as quickly as possible to put an end to the instability in the DRC.
In her speech, which mainly focused on the situation in the eastern region of the DRC, which is experiencing outbreaks of instability due to armed actions by the M23 forces, Esmeralda Mendonça expressed Angola’s continued willingness to support the pacification process.
ANGOP learnt that the Congolese diplomat recognised Angola’s key role as a mediator in the different conflicts in the region, particularly in his country.
Georges Nzogola Ntalaja praised the work of the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, as acting president of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and Champion of the African Union for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa.
On March 17th of the current year, the Angolan Parliament unanimously approved the sending of a contingent of 500 soldiers to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The aim is to secure the cantonment areas of the M23 elements and protect the members of the “ad hoc” verification mechanism.
Also on Wednesday, Esmeralda Mendonça held a meeting with the Minister of Justice of Portugal, Catarina Castro, with whom she discussed aspects related to the presidency of Angola in the CPLP, as well as the promotion of the Portuguese language on the international scene.
At the courtesy meeting, the two entities also addressed issues related to bilateral cooperation, on the sidelines of the Third United Nations High Level Conference on Combating Terrorism.
Angola took over the rotating presidency of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) during the organisation’s XIII Conference of Heads of State and Government, which took place from 12 to 17 July 2021, in Luanda. AL/NIC
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)