Staff Reporter

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) held a joint senior officials meeting yesterday to develop a sustainable solution to the ongoing security crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The high-level discussions focused on formulating a joint roadmap that outlines immediate, medium, and long-term strategies to address the conflict and establish lasting peace in the region.
Speaking at the meeting, Chairperson of the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials, Ambassador Albert Chimbindi, emphasised the importance of collaboration among member states and called for strong financial backing to support peace initiatives.
“Our meeting will consider the EAC-SADC joint roadmap, which details implementation plans for our mechanism,” Chimbindi said.
He further stressed the need for a collective financial commitment from member states, ensuring the initiative is effectively executed.
“Our efforts should continue to be guided by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2773 of 2025, which highlights that there can be no military solution to the conflict in Eastern DRC. Therefore, we underline the need for inclusive dialogue, as it is only through dialogue that the underlying issues can be resolved,” he said.
Representing the EAC, Brigadier General Edward Rugendo highlighted that the region has faced similar challenges before, and the lessons learnt must now be used to drive a more effective peace strategy.
“The situation in the eastern DRC has persisted for a long time. Various interventions have taken place. The East African Community Regional Force was deployed for one year, and the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) has been active for the past year,” Brigadier General Rugendo noted.
He urged both regional blocs to apply their past experiences, both successes and challenges, to ensure the next phase of intervention yields positive and lasting results.
The joint meeting followed directives from last month’s SADC-EAC summit, which instructed ministers from both blocs to deliberate on strategies for sustainable peace and security in the eastern DRC. The recommendations from this meeting will be presented at the next joint summit.
As the two regional organisations work together to resolve the DRC’s security crisis, their united approach is expected to foster greater stability, cooperation, and lasting peace in the region.