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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

DRC: Masire to prepare final session of inter-Congolese dialogue

NAIROBI, 10 January 2003 (IRIN) - The facilitator for the inter-Congolese dialogue, Ketumile Masire, is due in Kinshasa on Sunday to begin preparations for the final session of national peace and reconciliation talks, his office reported on Friday.

Masire's visit follows the agreement signed on 17 December 2002 in Pretoria, South Africa, by all parties to the dialogue.

During his mission, Masire, who is also a former president of Botswana, will confer with these parties, including Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila. The meetings will focus mainly on the date and the venue for the final plenary session of the dialogue which, under the Rules of Procedure, will conclude negotiations that began in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in October 2001.

"With the signing of the latest accord in Pretoria, I think it is necessary for the Congolese to finish now with the dialogue and embark seriously on the transition period that will see their country come out of its current state," Masire said.

Themes: (IRIN) Conflict

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