Téte António was speaking at the opening of the second ministerial meeting on the security and peace situation in the east of the DRC, which brought together, in Luanda, the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Francophonie of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Théresé Wagner, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Rwanda, Olivier Nduhungirehe.
Quoted in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Téte António said that “he is convinced that, during today’s meeting, the parties will be able to reach a consensus, formulating concrete proposals aimed at re-establishing peace and putting an end to the weapons in the east of the DRC”.
Earlier, the Rwandan and Congolese diplomats were received at the Presidential Palace by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, who was mandated by the African Union to facilitate the peace process in that region.
Tuesday's meeting follows a ministerial session held on 21 March, in which delegations from the three countries agreed on the need to cease hostilities.
According to the ministry, it was also agreed that the government of the DR Congo would present a plan and timetable for neutralising the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FDLR), while the government of Rwanda - which the DR Congo accuses of supporting the M23 rebels - "undertook to review its defence and security posture".
Since 1998, eastern DR Congo has been mired in a conflict fuelled by rebel militias and the army, despite the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO).
