The African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) advocated on Wednesday, November 11, for economic cooperation in the Great Lakes region to overcome persistent diplomatic deadlocks in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The Chairperson of the AU Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, received James Swan, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the DRC and head of the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), as well as Huang Xia, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region.
Their discussions focused on the evolving situation in the eastern part of Congo and on regional efforts toward peace and stability, according to an AU statement.
In addition to security considerations and the implementation of the Washington and Doha processes, these officials emphasized another lever: regional economic cooperation.
The AU Chairperson stressed the importance of this cooperation, particularly in addressing the root causes of the conflict. According to him, this promoted approach involves joint infrastructure projects, cooperation on natural resources, and the development of economic corridors.
Such “cooperation can strengthen mutual trust and bring lasting benefits to the populations of the region,” he argued, also emphasizing that this economic vision should be aligned with strengthened continental mediation and close coordination with the United Nations, while also broadening the dialogue to include all Congolese stakeholders.
The meeting between officials of the two organizations comes at a time marked by the evaluation of MONUSCO’s mandate. The upcoming renewal of this mandate was the subject of discussions, with particular attention paid to the Mission’s role in protecting civilians and supporting ceasefire monitoring, as well as the urgency of expanded humanitarian access and the response to public health crises affecting this eastern region.