Kinshasa, February 9th, 2026 (CPA).- Angolan President Joao Lourenco has been charged, on Monday, to lead consultations with all the parties involved in the resolving the crisis in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has been attacked by Rwanda, following a meeting held in Luanda, according to a communiqué sanctioning this summit. At the end of the meeting, it has been decided to ‘give Angola the mandate to engage consultations with all the Congolese parties interested, with a view to create the conditions necessary for the realisation of the inter-Congolese dialogue’, has indicated the final document of this meeting, that the Angolan President has chaired, in the presence of the Congolese Head of State, Felix Tshisekedi.
The parties to the conflict in eastern DRC have, furthermore, been invited to observe a ceasefire and to accelerate the implementation of the verification mechanisms agreed upon in Doha, Qatar, by the summit participants. ‘Have decided to call on the parties to the conflict in DRC to declare a ceasefire to take effect on a date and at a time to be agreed, encouraging them to accelerate the implementation of the ceasefire verification mechanisms agreed in Doha on October 14th, 2025,’ it is read.
In addition, the summit participants have reminded ‘the decisions taken under the Washington Agreement of December 4th, 2025, and resolutions 2773 (2025) and 2808 (2025) of the United Nations Security Council on the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese territory and the neutralisation of the FDLR’. Faure Gnassingbe, President of the Council of the Togolese Republic and African Union (AU) mediator, and Olusegun Obasanjo, representing the five former heads of State appointed by the AU as facilitators of the peace process in DRC, have taken part in this meeting.
Joao Lourenço is conducting since several months consultations in the framework of the peaceful resolution of the security crisis in the east of DRC attacked by Rwanda. It is in this capacity that he has received, two weeks ago, a delegation of Catholic bishops and Protestant pastors from DRC, to obtain their reading of the situation. In Kinshasa, President Tshisekedi had also received a delegation from the AU’s collective of designated facilitators on the security situation in eastern DRC and the Great Lakes region. At the end of the discussions, the Congolese Head of State had insisted on respect for the commitments made by the parties involved in all the peace processes in Washington, United States of America.
On the subject of organising an inclusive national dialogue, requested by certain political actors, he had given his favourable opinion, subject to a number of conditions. The dialogue should be held in the country, he had indicated, in accordance with the Constitution and without the perpetrators of crimes committed against the Congolese people, and in no way with the aim of whitewashing their faults. « We reaffirm our openness to dialogue between Congolese people.
A peaceful, unconditional dialogue, resolutely aimed to consolidate national cohesion without ever challenging the institutions elected by universal suffrage. (…) It cannot be invoked to relativize an aggression or dilute established responsibilities. So, dialogue yes, but not with the perpetrators of crimes committed against our people, » President Tshisekedi had declared. This meeting in Luanda is held a few days before the 39th ordinary session of the AU Conference, scheduled for February 14th -15th in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It will be marked mainly by the transfer of the rotating presidency of the AU from the outgoing President, Joao Lourenço of Angola, to Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi.