France hopes dialogue will mark “decisive stage” to peace

Paris is hoping this week’s preliminary meeting for the inter-Congolese dialogue in Gaborone, Botswana, will represent a “decisive stage” on the way to peace in the DRC, AFP reported French foreign ministry deputy spokesman, Bernard Valero, as saying on Monday. The meeting “could represent a decisive stage on the way to Congolese national reconciliation and the implementation of the Lusaka agreement”, Valero said at a press briefing. Valero noted that France “supports politically and financially the work [of dialogue facilitator and former Botswanan President Ketumile Masire] in a national capacity and in the framework of the European Union”, and said that France urged all participants “to respect the spirit of the commitments made in Lusaka and to set out with courage and without second thoughts to prepare the national dialogue,” according to AFP.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine has just completed a tour of Kampala, Kigali and Kinshasa to emphasise France’s economic and financial support for the peace process.