Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa will later Monday co-chair an extraordinary virtual summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) to address the critical security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Kenyan President William Ruto, who serves as chairperson of the EAC, will co-chair the summit alongside Mnangagwa who currently chairs the 16-member SADC bloc.
The summit, bringing together key leaders from both regional blocs, represents the second joint gathering of SADC and EAC heads of state, following a February 2025 meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which laid groundwork for addressing the escalating conflict in eastern DRC.
The virtual summit will focus on reviewing progress made on resolutions passed during the February meeting, which targeted stabilisation efforts in the region.
This will include deliberations on findings from the Joint EAC-SADC Ministerial Meeting held in Harare last week.
Monday’s meeting will include leaders from SADC’s summit troika member states –Zimbabwe, incoming chair Madagascar and immediate past chair Angola – and countries leading the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation – current chair Tanzania, incoming chair Malawi and immediate past chair Zambia.
South Africa, as a troop-contributing country to the SADC Mission in the DRC, and the DRC itself will also participate in the talks.
Eastern DRC has long been plagued by violence and instability, driven by armed groups and communal conflicts that have disrupted livelihoods and triggered humanitarian crises.
Both SADC and the EAC have sought to implement collaborative measures aimed at restoring peace to the volatile region.
JN/APA