KINSHASA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of the signatory countries of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework (PSCF) agreement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Africa's Great Lakes region met Tuesday in Kinshasa, DRC's capital, in preparation of the upcoming high-level meeting on the implementation of the agreement.
The meeting was chaired by Didier Mazenga, DRC's minister of Regional Integration and Francophone, with the goal to prepare for the 10th high-level meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism of PSCF agreement, which will be held Wednesday, in the Congolese capital.
During Wednesday's meeting, leaders of Africa's Great Lakes region will assess progress and challenges in the implementation of the PSCF agreement.
The PSCF agreement was signed on Feb. 24, 2013, by 11 African countries with firm commitments at national, regional and international levels to address the root causes of instability in the DRC and the region which had suffered the most from the scourge of conflicts in Africa.
In early 2014, Kenya and Sudan became the 12th and 13th signatories of the framework agreement, respectively. The Regional Oversight Mechanism is the body responsible for monitoring progress in the implementation of the agreement.
"I welcome the strong participation of the high-level delegations of the 13 signatory countries of the Framework Agreement and the guarantor institutions," said Xia Huang, the special envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region of Africa on social media.
The high-level meeting will also be attended by UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, replacing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who canceled his scheduled visit to the DRC Monday.
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in the DRC, particularly in the eastern provinces, due to the volatile security situation. ■