M7 receives Angola envoy on DRC issues

President Yoweri Museveni yesterday held a meeting with the visiting Angola Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Manuel Augusto who called on him at State House, Nakasero.

Mr. Augusto, an envoy of President Jose Oduardo dos Santos, is on a visit of the region to make consultations with regional leaders regarding the situation and developments in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Angolan envoy has so far met with the leaders of Rwanda, Congo Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sam Kuteesa.

President Museveni who is the current Chairman of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) convened the 5^th Extraordinary Summit in Kampala last weekend that was attended by President Joseph Kabila of the DRC, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, among others, to root for an end to the end of violence and restoration of the DRC Government authority in its eastern town of Goma that was recently occupied by the M23 group who mutinied against Kinshasa authorities.

In a communiqué that was issued at the end of the one-day summit, the regional leaders said that the Kinshasa authorities listen and resolve the grievances of the rebel group M23. They also emphasized that the M23 should stop expanding the war forthwith and stop talk of overthrowing an elected Government of DRC. The regional leaders also called on M23 to withdraw from the positions they held to the ground of tactical importance not less than 20 kms north of Goma.