DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will join other regional leaders in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for a summit on February 7-8 aimed at addressing the ongoing conflict in Eastern Congo, Kenyan President William Ruto announced Tuesday.
Ruto, who currently chairs the EAC, said the joint summit, which will bring together heads of state from the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), seeks to find solutions to the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and bolster political support in the region.
According to Ruto, Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda have also confirmed their attendance at the two-day meeting in Tanzania’s commercial hub.
The summit will begin on Friday with a meeting of ministers from both regional blocs, followed by the heads-of-state session on Saturday.
The EAC, which includes DRC, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania, has been working alongside the SADC to address the deteriorating security situation in Eastern Congo, where armed groups and militias have fueled violence and displacement for decades.
The upcoming two-day SADC-EAC summit is seen as a critical step in coordinating regional efforts to stabilize the volatile region.
