APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Angolan counterpart João Lourenço held talks on Friday on the sidelines of the G77 + China Summit in the Cuban capital, Havana.
The two leaders discussed regional and continental matters of interest, as well as further expanding bilateral partnerships, the statement by the President’s office in Kigali said.
Since May last year, Angolan President João Lourenço has been appointed by the African Union ( AU) as a mediator to facilitate dialogue between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
The Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has witnessed fierce fighting in recent months between Congolese troops and the M23 rebel group.
The clashes have triggered a diplomatic row, with the DRC accusing Rwanda of aiding the rebels, something that Kigali denies.
Reports by humanitarian agencies indicate that over the past weeks, the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has deteriorated dramatically.
It said that currently, around 28 per cent of the population of North Kivu and 39 per cent of Ituri’s regular population are displaced.
The East African Community (EAC), of which Rwanda is a member, has also vowed to deploy a joint force to quell the violence.
Rwanda, denying the DRC’s charges against it, accuses Kinshasa of colluding with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) — a former Rwandan Hutu rebel group that was established in the DRC after the 1994 genocide.
CU/as/APA