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Congolese President Kabila, Rwandan President Kagame Meet in Washington
Congolese President Joseph Kabila met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Washington Thursday in an effort to bring peace and reconciliation to their war-torn region, a senior U.S. State Department official said.
Kabila told U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell about his meeting with Kagame during a meeting with Powell late Thursday afternoon at the State Department.
Kabila told Powell that both he and Kagame share "a desire to work together" to end the 30-month-old Congolese war. Rwandan forces are deployed in Congo in support of Congolese rebels opposed to Kabila.
"It seems this is the beginning of a necessary dialogue for them to reassure each other and understand each other," the U.S. official said.
The two were introduced Thursday morning at the National Prayer Breakfast, and agreed to meet later in private, the official said.
During his meeting with Powell, Kabila spoke of the need for reconciliation among warring factions within Congo, as well as his desire for a withdrawal of international forces in the country.
The discussion centered around the need to implement the Lusaka accord -- a cease-fire signed in 1999, but until now widely ignored in the region.
State Department Richard Boucher said that during the meeting, Powell encouraged Kabila to reach out to regional parties to bring democratic and economic reform to Africa, so that the United States would be in a position to help develop the region.
He said that Kabila indicated he would cooperate with the United States and the United Nations in order to bring much-needed stability to the region.
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