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His Excellency President Jacob Zuma, accompanied by a delegation that included International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, yesterday took part in a signing ceremony for the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes Region.

The ceremony took place at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, in the Federal Republic of Ethiopia. Aside from South Africa, other countries that took part in the ceremony were Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, DRC, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The Secretary-General of the UN and the AU Commission Chairperson signed as witnesses and guarantors along, with the chairpersons of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and SADC.

The Framework articulates a set of commitments at the level of the DRC, the region and the international community. The Framework includes an oversight mechanism to facilitate follow-up and implementation of the commitments made.

The African Union and the United Nations joined hands to facilitate the signing of the Framework by the countries of the region, building on a long history of partnership in the Great Lakes Region. The two organisations spearheaded the process that led to the signing of the December 2006 Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region.