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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

RWANDA: Dutch ministers promise aid for demobilisation

NAIROBI, 12 August 2003 (IRIN) - The government of the Netherlands will assist Rwanda in its programme of demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants, disarmament of former Rwandan Armed Forces soldiers and other armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Radio Rwanda reported on Tuesday.

The pledge was made at a meeting between President Paul Kagame and two Dutch ministers who are on a tour of the Great Lakes region. Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Development and Cooperation Minister Agnes van Ardenne met Kagame in the capital, Kigali.

The ministers are visiting five countries in the region to offer their government's help with politics, diplomacy and development in order to promote regional peace, security and stability. They are scheduled to complete their visit on Thursday.

The radio reported that the army chief of staff, Brig-Gen Charles Kayonga also held talks with the Dutch ministers on security and stability within the region. It reported that after the meeting, Ardenne told reporters that the international community was willing to support the region in solving its political problems.

"What we discussed with the general were the general problems inside the country itself, the security concerns and also the regional problems," Ardenne was quoted as saying.

Radio Rwanda reported that Ardenne offered places in Netherlands institutions for two Rwandan military officers to undertake courses in peacekeeping operations.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict

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