President Mnangagwa in his capacity as the chairman of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation yesterday chaired the virtual SADC summit in which he emphasised that SADC wanted there to be lasting peace in war-torn parts of the Democratic Republic Of Congo, The Herald reports.
Addressing a meeting that was attended by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Tanzanian Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Professor Palamagamba John Mwaluko Kabudi and Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi and Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu, President Mnangagwa said they were happy that there had been stability in the war-torn parts of DRC since the 2018 elections:
It is noteworthy that the situation in the DRC has been stable since the 2018 elections. I therefore exhort all stakeholders to forge ahead with the governance, security and socio-economic reforms required to sustain long-term stabilisation and sustainable development in the DRC
The elimination of the threat posed by armed groups will require a comprehensive approach at the national and regional levels. As such, regional co-operation remains critical, not only to the long-term stabilisation of the DRC, but to peace, security and development in the entire region.
It is my firm belief that our engagement today will allow us to agree on a common position that seeks to strengthen the operational effectiveness and unity of command and control of the Force Intervention Brigade.
Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa’s administration is under fire back home for human rights abuses in the wake of last week events that saw the government issuing threats, arresting, beating, abducting and torturing would-be protestors, alleged organisers and protestors which attracted global condemnation.
More: The Herald