President João Lourenço of Angola arrived in Kigali on Friday, November 11, as part of the regional efforts to normalise relations between Rwanda and DR Congo, The New Times has learnt. President Lourenço will be meeting his counterpart Paul Kagame, Village Urugwiro confirmed. Lourenço, who is the chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), serves as the facilitator of the peace efforts between Rwanda and DR Congo, through the Luanda roadmap. Rwanda and DR Congo relations have soured since the Congolese government expelled the Rwandan ambassador in late October. Last week, Lourenço received the foreign ministers of Rwanda and DR Congo. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting the M23 rebel group fighting government forces (FARDC) in the conflict in eastern DR Congo. The Rwandan government however dismisses the allegations, calling the conflict an intra-Congolese issue. Rwanda has instead denounced the collaboration between the FARDC and FDLR, a Congo-based militia, whose members are accused of genocide crimes in Rwanda.
