President Jacob Zuma said there was now an increasing glimmer of hope that the previously intractable issues of conflict and instability in the Great Lakes Region would be resolved. The President made the observation at the conclusion of his Working Visit to Angola where he attended the 6th Ordinary Summit of International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in Luanda.

He returned to Pretoria this morning, 15 June 2016.

President Zuma said the Summit discussed, amongst other issues, the political and security situation in the Great Lakes Region including South Sudan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic.

“A full report of the ICGLR Summit will be presented at the next African Union Summit, suffice for me to say there is renewed hope that we will solve some of the conflicts that have plagued this region,” said the President.

While South Africa is not a member of the ICGLR, the country is nonetheless always invited as an observer to ICGLR meetings largely due to her extensive and long-term involvement in the peace-making and peace-keeping process in the Great Lakes Region.

President Zuma was accompanied by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and Minister of State Security, Mr David Mahlobo.

Source: The Presidency Republic Of South Africa