The day before, Angolan President and current head of the AU, João Lourenço, led a virtual meeting of heads of state and government to address the security situation in eastern DRC and evaluate issues such as the appointment of a new mediator.

The Togolese president’s candidacy was presented at the meeting and, according to the official statement from the meeting, Essozimna Gnassingbé was previously consulted and expressed his support for assuming such a responsibility, subject to the formal approval of the member countries.

At the meeting, Lourenço emphasized the need to advance the peace process in the DRC, taking into account the serious developments related to instability in eastern Congo.

He highlighted the progress made in the context of the Luanda and Nairobi processes, which are currently merged, and praised the two joint summits of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Development Community (EAC), which established a roadmap and included new facilitators.

The Angolan president, who was the mediator between the DRC and Rwanda appointed by the AU in 2022, resigned from leading these efforts after assuming the presidency of the continental organization.

In this regard, he considered it urgent to identify a new representative among the African heads of state, who will work together with SADC, the EAC, and the Facilitators for peace in the region.

In accordance with the regulations of the AU Assembly, the Organizing Commission will conduct a consultation process, after which it will decide whether the President of Togo will be responsible for this task.

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