Participants in the meeting (Photo: VNA) Quy chaired the UN Security Council’sonline meeting on the Great Lakes Region in Africa on April 12 in his capacity asrotating President of the UNSC in April 2021.
Speaking at the meeting as a Vietnamese representative, Quy welcomed efforts tostrengthen solidarity and cooperation of countries in the Great Lakes Region.
However, he also shared the UNSC’s commonconcern about the ongoing security instability and difficult humanitariansituation in the region.
Quy emphasised three main focuses to ensure peace and sustainable development inthe region, including further promoting regional cooperation, settlement ofroot causes of conflicts, and increasing assistance from the internationalcommunity.
Huang Xia, SpecialEnvoy of the UN Secretary‑General for the Great Lakes Region,presented the Secretary-General’s latest biannual report on the implementationof the 2013 Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo and the region
Hesaid that countries in the Great Lakes Region have continuously maintainedtheir commitments to promote cooperation at both regional and bilateral levelsin recent years.
Regional countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi,Rwanda and Uganda are now stepping up to promote the normalisation of bilateralrelations as well as expanding cooperation with partners in and outside theregion.
However, there remained challenges regarding the security situation in theregion, especially in eastern Congo, where armed groups have been engaged inillegal exploitation and trade of natural resources, he said.
The Special Envoy further informed about a plan to deploy the UN’s strategy topromote peace and security in the region with a vision for the next 10 years,which was approved by the UN Secretary-General in October 2020.
The 2013 Peace, Security andCooperation Framework was signed by 13 countries in the Great Lakes Regionto cooperate in maintaining peace in Congo and the region. The agreement issponsored by the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, theGreat Lakes Region and the UN./.
VNA
