African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has arrived in Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania ahead of the joint Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East-African Community (EAC) peace talks on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Faki who is serving his final term as the head of the continental commission is expected to be joined by heads of state from the larger region of East Africa and Southern Africa to forge reconciliation between the warring factions in the mineral-rich Eastern DRC.

“Balozi wa Tanzania katika Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo, Said Mshana amempokea Mwenyekiti wa Kamisheni ya Umoja wa Afrika, Moussa Faki Mahamat aliyewasili nchini Tanzania alfajiri ya Februari 8, 2025 kuuwakilisha Umoja wa Afrika katika Mkutano wa Dharura wa Pamoja Wakuu wa Nchi na Serikali wa Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki (EAC) na Jumuiya ya Maendeleo Kusini mwa Afrika (SADC) utakaofanyika hapo baadaye. Jumuiya zote mbili zinakutana kujadili kwa lengo la kupatia ufumbuzi hali ya ulinzi na usalama katika Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo,” a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tanzania noted.

(Tanzania’s ambassador in DRC Said Mshana has this morning received the African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat who is in the country to represent AU in the joint SADC-EAC summit later today. The two organisations are meeting to find a lasting solution to the war in DRC.)

Conflict in Goma

The meeting is expected to bring together DRC president Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame who are seen as the main antagonists in the ongoing conflict in Goma where hundreds have been reported dead and thousands displaced.

The joint SADC-EAC meeting began on Friday, February 7, 2025, led by various high-ranking ministers of the various countries involved in the talks as well as Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.

In a statement on Friday, February 7, 2025, Mudavadi urged the parties involved in the conflict to embrace dialogue to alleviate human suffering and bring an end to the bloodletting in the region.

“I co-chaired the EAC-SADC Ministers’ Meeting on the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC. Our discussions focused on negotiation as a key pathway to ending the prolonged crisis, which continues to displace millions and expose vulnerable groups of women, children, and Persons with Disabilities to severe harm,” Mudavadi said.

Adding: “A collective response is crucial. Dialogue remains our strongest tool in forging a sustainable solution, and I urge all stakeholders to embrace it.”