The EU’s Special Representative for the Great Lakes region, Johan Borgstam, has held meetings in Angola with President João Lourenço and senior ministers to discuss the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Lobito Corridor transport project.
Borgstam met Lourenço as well as Francisco Pereira Furtado, Minister of State and Head of the Military House of the President, foreign minister Tete António and transport minister Ricardo Viegas d’Abreu during his third mission to Angola, the European External Action Service (EEAS) announced on Saturday.
Talks with Angolan officials focused on efforts to reach a “peaceful and political solution” to the conflict in eastern DRC, it said.
The EU reiterated calls for parties in eastern DRC to “immediately de-escalate”, commit to an “immediate, effective and lasting ceasefire”, end support to armed groups, and stop hate speech.
It also called for commitments under UN Security Council resolution 2773, the Washington Accords and the Doha framework agreement to be implemented, including respect for the DRC’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese territory, an end to support for the M23 armed group by the Rwandan government, and the “neutralisation” of the FDLR armed group by the DRC government.
Lobito Corridor coordination meeting held in Luanda
Borgstam chaired the EU delegation at the first Coordination Meeting for the Lobito Corridor in Luanda on 5 February, convened at the request of the governments of Angola, the DRC and Zambia, the EEAS said.
The meeting brought together policymakers from the three countries and international partners to discuss developing the corridor and strengthening coordination.
The Lobito Corridor is linked to Angola’s port of Lobito and is intended to connect regions of Angola, the DRC and Zambia, including landlocked areas, the EEAS said, describing it as an “open-access transcontinental rail link”.
The EU and its member states have mobilised more than €2 billion in “Team Europe” investment for the corridor and related development actions, covering sectors including renewable energy, minerals value chains, trade facilitation, vocational skills, and agriculture.
“Today in Luanda, we made great strides towards coordinating the efforts of all partners, in the region and outside the region, to make the Lobito corridor a reality,” Borgstam said after the meeting.
