President Paul Kagame on Wednesday, October 7, reiterated Rwandas determination to cooperate with neighbours in bolstering peace and security for regional development. This was during a regional virtual summit of Heads of State hosted by President Félix Tshisekedi of DR Congo. President Kagame joined Presidents João Lourenço of Angola and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda for the meeting. Kagame said: We are obliged to meet via video conference, but the spirit of positive cooperation demonstrated by this meeting is clear. Rwanda is pleased to participate and make our contribution.” Cooperation in fighting insecurity in our region is at the core of our efforts as we allow trade and investment to thrive across borders, Kagame explained. He added that stability is the catalyst for increased trade and investment. This, he said, is in the interest of each of our countries and the region as a whole. Kagame added: The Covid-19 pandemic has cost lives and disrupted our economies, but by working closely together to mitigate the impact, we can minimise the damage of this pandemic and build capacity to withstand future pandemics. Last month, President Tshisekedi invited Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye and Angola’s Joao Lurenço to a summit but it did not happen. At the time, Jolino Makelele, the DR Congo Minister of Communication and spokesperson for the Congolese government, said the high-impact mini-summit will look at three themes - peace and security in the region, diplomatic and political relations among the states and the revival of economic activities in the current context of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. In the past two years, President Tshisekedi ignited a new momentum aimed at bolstering peace and security in the region. Among others, under his leadership, the DR Congo army stepped up an offensive against Rwandan terror groups and others in an ongoing effort to rout all foreign armed militias based in the neighbouring country.
