BUJUMBURA August 30th (ABP) – The President of the Republic of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye, returned on Monday, January 28, 2023, from a two-day official visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the bilateral relations of cooperation and brotherhood existing between the DRC and Burundi through cooperation projects in various fields, according to the spokesperson of the President of the Republic, Mrs. Rosine Guilène Gatoni during an interview given to the press, at Melchior Ndadaye International Airport.
During their exchanges, the two Heads of State had a face-to-face meeting and had the opportunity to discuss integration projects that could strengthen relations, in this case the railway construction project that will link Tanzania, Burundi and the DRC but also the construction project of the bridge which will connect Burundi at the level of Cibitoke province and the DRC at the level of South Kivu. They also mentioned the need to create branches of Burundian bank agencies in Uvira and Bukavu and also Congolese bank agencies in Bujumbura as part of improving commercial transactions between the two peoples, she added.
Still according to Mrs. Gatoni, the two Heads of State also discussed the security situation prevailing in eastern DRC where the Burundian President, who is also the Chairman of the East African Community (EAC), and his counterpart of the DRC, Felix Antoine Tchisekedi Tchilombo deplored the fact that the M23 did not show any interest in being quartered. Thus, the two Heads of State appealed to the region to take its responsibility in order to push the M23 to cantonment but also to push all the armed groups, both local and foreign, to lay down their arms and begin the process of demobilization, disarmament and reintegration.
Still in the field of security and defense, Mrs. Gatoni continued to say that there was the signing of a Protocol Agreement in the field of defense between the Congolese government and the Burundian government. The agreement has been signed by the ministers responsible for defense in the presence of the two Heads of State in order to consolidate cooperation in the military field.
Mrs. Gatoni also indicated that at the end of the work, the two Heads of State hosted a press briefing during which they answered various questions which were, essentially, based on the security situation prevailing in the Eastern DRC. According to her, the two Heads of State have also announced the preparation for an EAC Heads of State Summit, very soon, in order to review, analyze and resume other commitments which could help them achieve the objective that the community has set itself, which consists of supporting the DRC in its efforts to restore peace and security on Congolese territory and particularly in the east of the DRC.