Off the wire
• UN, Gambia to investigate December coup attempt in Gambia  • 1st LD: U.S. drone strike kills 6 in NW Pakistan  • Urgent: Senior Al-Shabaab figure surrenders to Somali gov't  • Ebola-hit Guinea to reopen schools on Monday  • Roundup: KSE maintains record-smashing rally amid rate cut hopes  • China changes rules of calculating lending, deposits  • Africa Focus: Kenya's consumer watchdog calls for further drop in fuel prices  • Dutch housing market recovers faster than expected  • 2nd LD Writethru: Filipe Nyusi sworn in as Mozambique's new president  • Pope concludes visit to Sri Lanka  
You are here: 　 Home

Lawmakers from the Great Lakes region to meet over security issues

Xinhua, January 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

Lawmakers from the Great Lakes Region will meet in Kenya next week to discuss political and security challenges in the region, officials confirmed on Thursday.

Kenya's Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro said the Fifth Plenary Session of the Forum of Parliaments of the 12-member International Conference of the Great Lakes Region will take place from Jan. 20 to 22 in Nairobi.

Ethuro said the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the role of parliaments in ensuring peace and stability in the region which has been rocked by conflicts.

"The forum provides a platform for exchange of views on conflict resolution, experiences and dialogue amongst Parliaments of Member States," Ethuro said in a statement received in Nairobi.

The three-day meeting will bring together Parliaments of Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.

Ethuro said the conference, aimed at promoting Security, stability and development in the Great Lakes Region, will focus on Central African Republic, South Sudan, DR Congo and Sudan countries that have been affected by endless conflicts of armed militias.

"Another focus on the conference will be the role of Parliaments of Member States in the fight against illegal exploitation of natural resources in the region and the implementation of related international and legal instruments," he said.

According to Ethuro, youth unemployment, infrastructure development and investment promotion in the Great Lakes Region will also feature during conference. Endi