Kabila urges world to remember Congo

While acknowledging "some progress on the ground concerning the peace process", President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) urged the international community to remember his country in the wake of world focus shifting to events in Afghanistan.

"We would like them to understand that despite the current situation - I am referring to the war in Afghanistan - the problem in the Great Lakes region still exists," Kabila said on Tuesday, speaking to Gabonese Africa No 1 radio from the United States.

"This is a problem that needs to be solved at all costs. The whole world must come together to solve the problem, notably the war of aggression in the Congo," he added.

Regarding his government's decision to walk out of the inter-Congolese dialogue in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday 19 October, Kabila said: "We believe the inter-Congolese dialogue was not well prepared. The dialogue should and must be inclusive. Up to now, this has not been the case. This was not the case and this is why we required that it become inclusive. The government is still determined to look for and find peace whenever everything is in order."

Faced with the government walk-out and insufficient funds, dialogue facilitator Ketumile Masire suspended the national peace and reconciliation conference on 21 October. Efforts are underway to resume talks at a date and location to be announced, in South Africa, where the government has agreed to assume a large share of the cost.

Asked when, exactly, this might take place, Kabila said: "Like everybody else, we are in a hurry; the people of the DRC are in a hurry. We are in a hurry, but at the same time, the dialogue must be well prepared."

Kabila is currently in the US to rally support for his nation. Among other activities, he will be attending the US Africa Business Summit in Philadelphia, sponsored by the Corporate Council on Africa, in an effort to encourage American investment in a post-war DRC.