BUJUMBURA October 27th (ABP) – The President of the Republic of Burundi, Mr. Evariste Ndayishimiye, received in audience, on the morning of Tuesday, Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations in charge of operations peacekeeping, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
According to Mr. Lacroix, the discussions revolved around the strengthening of partnership between the United Nations and Burundi at the regional and international level.
Mr. Lacroix indicated that at the regional level, Burundi occupies an important place in the maintenance of peace and security in the Great Lakes region. In this regard, he stressed that security in eastern DR Congo and throughout the Great Lakes region is very important to them, noting that Burundi is strongly involved in that matter.
Regarding the commitment of Burundi in the Central African Republic (CAR), Mr. Lacroix praised “the efforts made by Burundi in this context, especially in the recent period of ceasefire that was decreed in the CAR”, also with a commitment from the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). That effort must be followed because, he said, the United Nations is supporting it.
Mr. Lacroix paid tribute to nine soldiers who lost their lives in CAR in the service of the ideals of the United Nations, the sacrifice of the Burundian nation and their close families. For him, it is an opportunity to “pay tribute to their commitment, courage and determined spirit”.
Mr. Lacroix ended his remarks by noting that in terms of peacekeeping operations, the two parties have undertaken to “continue this cooperation and also to meet all the conditions for that cooperation to be strengthened”.