President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to attend the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit Plus and Force Intervention Brigade Troop Contributing Countries in Namibia today.

President Ramaphosa will be accompanied by International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise, Minister in the Presidency responsible for State Security Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Candith Mashego-Dlamini.

The President will participate in the summit in his capacity as outgoing Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

According to the Presidency, the summit is a follow up to the Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit also held in Namibia in January this year which “considered the security situation in the SADC region”.

“The Extraordinary Summit Plus is expected to receive an update on the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and consider a report of the SADC Field Assessment Mission to Eastern DRC on the deployment of the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) - Force Intervention Brigade (FIB).

“The Summit will also discuss a SADC common position to guide the region’s engagement at the envisaged Tripartite Summit on the coordination of interventions and multiple deployments in the Eastern DRC.

“The insecurity in the Eastern DRC has been receiving sharp focus of the SADC, the African Union, and other regional mechanisms,” the Presidency said.

The statement said the summit’s outcomes are expected to “contribute to continental efforts aimed at finding a coordinated and lasting solution to the insecurity in the eastern DRC”.

“The summit will be preceded by the meetings of the Senior Officials and Ministerial Committee of the Organ Troika Plus, respectively,” the statement said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: South African Government News Agency