The national coordinator of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), has emphasized that Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC have a large potential for cooperation in the areas of security and development.

Joseph Kabakeza, made the remarks at the opening of a two-day national workshop held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINAFFET) on "Trans–Border Development Basins” in the ICGLR’s zone 10 – exclusively Rwanda, Burundi and DRC.

"There are a lot of commonalities between these three member states – there is a large potential for cooperation in the areas of security and socio-economic development for the improvement of the social welfare of the peoples of the three-member states,” Kabakeza said.

Eugene Munyakayanza, the Permanent Secretary of MINAFFET, emphasized that government attaches great importance to ICGLR projects in eradicating chronic conflict and commended "the invaluable support to these projects of the German government through GTZ.”

The workshop is in line with the implementation of the pact on peace, stability and development of the ICGLR.
Participants in the workshop will review the ICGLR Protocol and programmes in relation to trans–boundary collaboration for socio–economic development including issues of security, trade, migration, and local governance.

Today, the meeting will dwell on the development of possible projects as participants are expected to come up with concrete implementable projects to propose to the region.

The ICGLR pact whose objectives include providing a legal framework governing relations between member states, implementing its contents, and creating the conditions for security, stability and sustainable development between member states entered into force in 2008.

The ICGLR has 11 member states – Rwanda, Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Congo, DRC, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

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