Sundaymail Editor
Chief Reporter
THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC) high-level joint ministerial meeting initially scheduled for last Friday has been deferred to a later date.
The meeting is part of the ongoing efforts by regional leaders to enforce a sustainable ceasefire and cessation of hostilities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
It is anticipated that the forthcoming joint ministerial meeting will provide the foundation for a subsequent Heads of State Summit, to craft a comprehensive framework that promotes sustainable dialogue and a lasting resolution to the conflict.
In an interview yesterday, the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Albert Chimbindi, said discussions were progressing for ministers from the two regional blocs to settle on a new date.
“The meeting did not take place yesterday (Friday) and consultations are now underway and the ministers have to mutually agree on a date,” he said.
“The new date when the meeting will be held will be announced soon.”
The joint EAC-SADC joint ministerial gathering was scheduled for February 28, following the meeting of EAC chiefs of defence forces (CDFs) in Nairobi on February 21. SADC CDFs also met on the same subject in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The meetings followed a directive from the joint EAC-SADC Heads of State Summit on February 8, 2025 in Dar es Salaam.
Last week, the SADC and EAC appointed three former African leaders as mediators in the conflict.
The three are former Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya) and Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), and former Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe.
Recently, the United Nations Security Council applauded efforts by the two regional blocs to resolve the DRC crisis and strongly condemned the ongoing offensive by M23 rebels in the eastern DRC.
The UN body called on the Rwanda Defence Forces to stop supporting the armed group and immediately withdraw from Congolese territory without preconditions. On Thursday, DRC Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said over 8 500 people have died in Goma and its surroundings in the eastern DRC since January, amidst intensified fighting between M23 rebels and government forces.
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