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President Pierre Buyoya and Berhanu Dinka, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region, met on Wednesday in Bujumbura to discuss regional issues in general and the Arusha peace process for Burundi in particular. In a meeting characterised as "very useful and friendly," the two men exchanged views on the regional aspect
of the DRC conflict and on the proposed international conference on the Great Lakes, a press release from Dinka's office stated. He will continue his consultations - on the conference among other issues - with leaders of other states in the region, including Rwanda and the DRC, from next week. He has already visited Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the OAU in Addis
Ababa in his current role.
The UN Security Council on 24 February reaffirmed the importance of holding, at an appropriate time, an international conference on peace, security and development in the Great Lakes region. "The process, from its inception, must be owned by the region and must not be imposed from outside," Dinka said on Wednesday. "To this end, my discussions here and elsewhere in the region will provide essential ideas and inputs for the
further elaboration of a conceptual framework for the proposed
conference," his statement added.
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