The day before, the President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, arrived in Luanda; the Vice President of Namibia, Nangolo Mbumba, and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane.
Also arriving on Angolan soil were the foreign ministers of Botswana, Lomogang Kwape, Mozambique, Verónica Macamo, and Malawi, Nancy Tembo; and Eswatini’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Thabisile Grace Mlangeni.
The arrival of South Africa’s leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, is scheduled for this morning; from Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema; from Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi.
The extraordinary summit convened by President João Lourenço in his capacity as head of SADC will discuss details related to the implementation of the decision of the 43rd Summit held in August this year in Luanda on the deployment of the military mission in the Democratic Republic Congo.
According to spokesman Jorge Cardoso, participants will address issues such as the composition of the force, logistics, equipment and any information about the current state of the operational area in this country.
Unfortunately, the situation will tend to worsen due to the violation of the ceasefire agreed through Angola’s mediation, he lamented, adding that it is known that the rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23) have captured positions in Congolese territory.
The summit will also address the electoral processes in the region to try to ensure an environment of peace and security, starting with that which the Democratic Republic of Congo itself will create on December 20.
As a preamble, this Friday saw the ministerial meeting of the SADC Political, Defense and Security Panel, held behind closed doors at the Intercontinental Hotel in Luanda.
The Southern African Development Community is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1992 dedicated to cooperation and socio-economic integration in the region and coordination on political and security issues.
The SADC region includes Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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