The call for peace, security and development as embodied in the theme of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), dominated the speeches of leaders including that of the Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Emmanuel John Nchimbi, who delivered the speech at the summit in Kinshasa on November 15, 2025.
Contributing to the discussion on the theme “Strengthening Peace and Security for Sustainable Development in the Great Lakes Region”, Dr. Nchimbi said that the theme recognizes the fundamental truth that lasting development cannot be achieved without peace and lasting peace cannot be achieved without inclusive and sustainable development.
Dr. Nchimbi explained that the Great Lakes Region is blessed with abundant natural resources, including minerals and human resources, but the region is still facing long-term political conflicts triggered by various issues such as illegal harvesting of natural resources.
The conflicts have led to humanitarian disasters including people fleeing their homes and serious human rights violations largely stemming from war crimes.
He continued to explain that in line with the various regional and international efforts currently underway to control the conflicts, Tanzania as a founding member of the ICGLR has been involved in various efforts to end conflicts within the Region including contributing peacekeeping forces to the DRC and recently hosting the Joint Summit of Heads of State of SADC and EAC aimed at finding a solution to the political crisis in the Eastern DRC.
The Vice President commended the various ongoing efforts to find solutions to conflicts in the ICGLR countries.
These efforts include those led by the President of Angola, Mr. João Lourenço to seek peace in the DRC and the Central African Republic; The signing of the Peace Agreement in Qatar, the integration of the Luanda and Nairobi processes and the peace agreement between Rwanda and the DRC signed under the auspices of the United States Government.
Dr. Nchimbi said that despite these efforts, there are still security challenges in various countries, especially the DRC, the Central African Republic, the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan.
He concluded his speech by saying that the path to peace requires cooperation and a strong commitment from all ICGLR countries to address the remaining challenges in order to build a peaceful, prosperous and economically resilient region.
