Burundi present in the 20th ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of Central African States

At the invitation of HE Mr. Denis SASSOU N’GUESSO, the President of the Republic of Congo, the Head of State, Current President of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS ), the 20th ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government was held on January 19, 2022.

The President of the Republic of Burundi HE Evariste Ndayishimiye was represented in this session by HE Albert Shingiro, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation.

According to the final communiqué made public at the end of this session, the conference analyzed various points, in particular that concerning safety and security in Central Africa, the conference noted that the security situation in the Community space remains generally stable despite the difficulties resulting from the persistence of acts of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea as well as the challenges facing the region, in particular those relating to terrorism and violent extremism, the persistence of armed groups, the illegal circulation of weapons and the illicit exploitation of natural resources.

Regarding the establishment of the Regional Logistics Depot, the Conference endorsed the candidacy of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea to host the ECCAS Regional Logistics Depot.

With regard to the meeting of Heads of enquiring services on the fight against mercenaries in Central Africa, the Conference instructed the Commission to work towards holding this meeting during the first half of 2022 by extending it to all the national services concerned with this question.

The conference also analyzed the establishment of the Committee of Elders of Central Africa 19. The Conference took note of the provisions taken by the Council of Ministers relating to the modalities for the establishment of the Committee of Elders of Central Africa. For that, the Conference instructed the President of the Commission to speed up the operationalization of this important COPAX instrument

According to this communiqué, the Conference adopted, on the proposal of the Council of Ministers, the following decisions: Decision No. 001/CEEAC/CCEGIXXI/22 adopting the Priority Action Plan (PAP) of the year 2022 of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and Decision No. 002/CEEACICCEG/XX/22 adopting the Declaration on the involvement of women in prevention, mediation and consolidation processes of peace in Central Africa.

During this 20th session, the Republic of Burundi received support for its candidacies for the positions of member of Human Rights Council of the United Nations for the period 2024-2026, Non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2026-2027 and the President of the 84th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2029.

The Conference expressed its gratitude to His Excellency Mr. Denis SASSOU-N’GUESSO, President of the Republic of Congo, Current President of ECCAS, for his remarkable record as well as for the achievements made throughout his mandate as Presidency of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of ECCAS, his leadership and his constant commitment to the success of the regional integration process in Central Africa.

The Conference welcomed the passing between the outgoing President and the new President in Office, His Excellency Mr. Félix Antoine TSHISEKEDI TSHILOMBO, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, within the deadlines prescribed by the revised ECCAS Treaty.

Note that in closing, the Conference decided to hold its 21st ordinary session in July 2022 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

On the sidelines of the 20th ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of Central African States, HE Albert Shingiro met various personalities including HE Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, Minister of International Cooperation and Promotion of public-private partnerships, Mr. Gilberto P. VERISSIMO, President of the ECCAS Commission and Mr Jean Claude Gakoso, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Congo.