The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), is set to hold a roundtable discussion in Burundi next week, as part of the initiatives to draw an implementation plan of the security, stability and regional development pact.

According to a statement from the secretariat, this meeting aims at mobilizing support from development partners and the eleven ICGLR member states as regards execution of major projects under this pact.

"During this two-day conference, evaluation of the achievements will be done as well as highlighting challenges. Presentation of priority projects which have not yet received financial support will also be done, and through this, dialogue and investment strategy to finance future priorities will be reached,” the statement says.

The pact was adopted as a collective determination by different countries in the Great Lakes Region to transform the region into a space of sustainable peace and security for states and peoples, characterized by political and social stability; shared growth and development.

In collaboration with the African Development Bank, officials also expect that the conference will reunite development partners and other stakeholders to reconfirm their continuous support through pledges and commitments to boost specific projects.

The Acting National Coordinator, Joseph Kabakeza, recently noted that this will be the first roundtable organized by the ICGLR Executive Secretariat.

He added that Rwanda’s progress towards implementation and domestication of this pact is impressive, highlighting that one of the major steps taken, is translation of the peace pact into Kinyarwanda as a way of easing its implementation in the country.

The establishment of the ICGLR stemmed from the conflicts and tragedies in the region, especially the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda and the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which constituted a threat to International Peace and Security.

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