Lourenço and Kagame spoke on the necessity for a long-term solution to the DR Congo problem

President Paul Kagame and his Angolan colleague João Lourenço spoke about the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where on Monday, January 27, M23 rebels seized the strategically important city of Goma.

“The necessity for a long-term and sustainable solution to the continuing crisis” in DR Congo was discussed by the two leaders,” Kagame said in a post on X on Thursday.

“We also strengthened our solid bilateral partnership moving forward and reaffirmed our commitment to collaboratively finding a solution with others on the continent.”

In order to restore peace in eastern DR Congo and repair ties between Rwanda and DR Congo, which were strained by the violence in North Kivu region after Kinshasa accused its neighbor of aiding the rebels, Lourenço is the mediator of the Luanda process, an African Union-backed initiative.

Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi’s threats to overthrow the current government in Rwanda and the Congolese army’s cooperation with the FDLR, a UN-sanctioned organization established by the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, were the reasons Rwanda rejected the accusations.

The Congolese government’s refusal to endorse an accord that would allow peace negotiations with the M23 in mid-December put the Luanda process at a standstill.

Before seizing Goma, a metropolis of two million people and the center of international and humanitarian initiatives in the war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the rebels gained more territory in the provinces of North and South Kivu.

The war reappeared only three years ago, over ten years after the M23 withdrew from Goma, and the most recent escalation has sparked outrage and calls for a lasting resolution.

Numerous international and governmental groups have demanded that the Luanda process be revived.

The East African Community (EAC) presidents encouraged the Congolese leader to “directly engage” with M23 rebels on Wednesday as a workable solution to the war.

Tshisekedi, who did not attend the EAC meeting, has repeatedly denied that peace negotiations with the rebel organization he refers to as a terrorist outfit are possible.

President Kagame emphasized to his EAC colleagues on Wednesday that Tshisekedi’s administration must accept responsibility for the crisis and demonstrate political determination to find a long-term solution, emphasizing the need to address the conflict’s underlying roots.

“I don’t understand how Tshisekedi keeps thinking that he will solve the problems to do with people’s rights militarily… kill them, shoot them,” Kagame stated during the virtual crisis conference.

One of the main obstacles to a sustainable peace in eastern DR Congo, he said, is the manipulation of regional efforts.

Kagame remarked, “But I don’t see how we are going to contribute effectively to finding a solution if we keep saying nice things to each other and each one continues to fulfill their own interests apart from the common interests of East Africans.”