Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa is in the country for a regional summit aimed at advancing peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi received Mnangagwa on Wednesday evening at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport ahead of the Joint East African Community (EAC)–Southern African Development Community (SADC) Co-Chairs’ Meeting set for Friday, August 1.
Mnangagwa is the current Chair of SADC.
The Nairobi talks will bring together leaders and mediators from both regional blocs for briefings with the Panel of Facilitators steering the mediation between the Congolese government and armed groups in eastern DRC.
President William Ruto, who is also the current EAC Chairperson, is expected to formally appoint a panel of five facilitators tasked with finding a durable solution to the conflict in the region.
“This meeting reflects our shared commitment to African-led solutions for peace and stability,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi was joined by Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes Geoffrey Ruku, who served as Escort of Honour, along with Kenya’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe Gertrude Angote and Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Kenya Winpeg Moyo.
Both EAC and SADC have previously led parallel diplomatic and military interventions in the DRC conflict.
The Nairobi meeting is expected to harmonise their strategies.
