President Paul Kagame on Wednesday, December 18, received a message from his Angolan counterpart João Lourenço, who is the facilitator of the Luanda process. The message was delivered by Foreign Minister Tete Antonio, according to Village Urugwiro. ALSO READ: Rwanda calls for ‘serious actions’ on FDLR as Luanda summit is postponed Minister Antonio’s visit came three days after a summit that would bring together teh Presidents of Rwanda, DR Congo and Angola to sign an agreement on the resolution on the security situation in eastern DR Congo was postponed. The Luanda summit was postponed at the last minute after a meeting of the three countries’ Foreign Ministers on Saturday failed to reach a consensus on the way forward for the security situation in North Kivu province, where a Congolese government coalition is fighting the M23 rebels. ALSO READ: Dialogue with M23: The impasse in Luanda talks The Presidents would meet to sign an agreement on how to resolve the conflict and normalise strained relations between DR Congo and Rwanda, but the Congolese side on Saturday rejected a proposal to dialogue with the M23 rebels, hence the impasse that led to the cancellation of the Heads of State Summit on Sunday. The Rwandan government said that direct dialogue between DR Congo and M23 rebels would be necessary to find a lasting solution to the long-standing insecurity. ALSO READ: Who are the M23 rebels? The Congolese government accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels, allegations Rwanda dismisses, saying the crisis results from internal governance failures and long-standing security issues such as the presence of the FDLR, a militia founded by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Rwanda also voices its concerns about collaboration of between the Congolese army and the FDLR. ALSO READ: Rwanda raises concerns over DR Congo arming of FDLR The ministerial meetings held in Luanda seeking to find a solution to the crisis in eastern DR Congo had three major items to consider. There was the lifting of Rwanda’s defensive measures put in place in response to the security threat from DR Congo, the FDLR neutralization and the solution to the M23 rebellion. ALSO READ: How Tshisekedi scuttled FDLR neutralisation plan at last minute The issue of Rwanda’s defensive measures and that of FDLR neutralization had been addressed in the concept of operations (CONOPS) signed by the Ministers on November 25 and the M23 rebellion was the one whose way forward had yet to be agreed upon. The DR Congo-M23 conflict in North Kivu has been ongoing since late 2021. The Congolese government coalition includes the FDLR, Wazalendo militia, European mercenaries, Burundian forces, among others. Rwanda has continued to express its concerns about the security threat from DR Congo and belligerent rhetoric by Congolese leaders. Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Olivier Nduhungirehe recently voiced concerns about increased militarisation on the border with DR Congo, new deployments, continued collaboration between high-level officials in the Congolese army and FDLR. He said that threats by Congolese leaders, including President Tshisekedi to cause regime change in Rwanda, were taken seriously. Nduhungirehe said that there was a lack of political will on the part of the Congolese government to end the conflict in the east of DR Congo. He reiterated that Rwanda wanted peace in the region.
