Oyo, 24 February 2013

President Kagame today in Oyo, Northern Republic of Congo, participated in the Heads of State Sub-Regional meeting hosted by President Sassou-N’Guesso and attended by President Kabila of the DRC and President Museveni of Uganda. At the meeting, which follows the signing of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Great Lakes Region in Addis Ababa the Heads of State discussed ongoing regional efforts towards ending conflict in Eastern DRC and establishing security in the region.

Speaking at the end of the five hour closed-door meeting, Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister Louise Mushikiwabo told the press:

“It was a very fruitful meeting. The Heads of State have decided to follow closely the implementation of all the outcomes of the various meetings and more importantly the framework all our countries signed last month in Addis Ababa. This is a meeting that signals the kind of commitment and the efforts that our countries have engaged and will continue to engage in to make sure that we find peace in our region so we can continue working on the serious business of development.”

Minister Louise Mushikiwabo also commented on the recent transfer of Bosco Ntaganda to the International Criminal Court and warned against ignoring the root causes of the conflict in Eastern DRC:

“Ntaganda’s desire to face justice is a step in the right direction but the departure of one man in a country that has had so many difficulties in so many years does not signal the end of the problems in DRC. We believe more work needs to be done.”

A communiqué issued at the end of the Oyo Summit pointed to both the peace negotiations in Kampala and the Peace Framework signed in Addis Ababa as essential to the progress of regional solutions:

“This summit is part of the ongoing international and regional efforts undertaken to bring stability to the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Heads of State renewed their commitment to ensuring the implementation of the agreement and expressed the need for the ongoing peace negotiations in Kampala to lead to positive outcome without delay.”

With the new developments in the Central African Republic, the Heads of State also expressed their support for President Sassou-N’Guesso’s role as mediator in the conflict and called on all parties involved to respect the constitution and the dignity and life of all citizens of that country.

ENDS