Angola defended the intensification of information exchange among the Defence and Security Forces of the member countries of the International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), with the aim to create conditions for lasting peace and stability in the region.

Angola’s position was expressed by the National Defence and Homeland Veterans minister, João Ernesto dos Santos, at the closing of the Ordinary Meeting of the Committee of Defence Ministers of the ICGLR held in Luanda.

The Angolan minister said the creation of a lasting peace and stability in the region would be a facilitating factor for the populations to carry out their social activities.

He appealed to the culture of dialogue and negotiation as models of conflict resolution.

Based on this model, the minister said, it is the obligation of the Defence and Security Forces of the member countries of the ICGLR to carry out actions that could be a demonstration of what the region defends in bilateral and multilateral forums.

Aspects linked to the pacification and stabilisation of the Great Lakes Region dominated the Ordinary Meeting of the Committee of Defence Ministers of the ICGLR that closed Friday.

The meeting discussed, among other documents, the report of the Chiefs of Defence Staff, the technical arrangement between the Joint Ad-Hoc Verification Mechanism and the report of the Regional Coordination Committee.

The meeting reviewed the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the situation in Burundi, Sudan, Central African Republic and South Sudan.

The ministers’ meeting took place at a time when some countries of the ICGLR are plagued by conflicts, the negative impact of which affects thousands of people causing countless displacements, refugees and deaths.

Angola holds the rotating presidency of the ICGLR, an organisation that includes Burundi, DRC, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Republic of Congo

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)