By Bida Elly David
President Salva Kiir Mayardit, the chair of the East African Community Heads of States Summit has embarked on a regional peace tour.
Kiir is meeting with leaders of three member states to foster peace amid escalating tensions in the region.
Leaving Juba for Kigali on Thursday, President Kiir met his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, while on Friday and proceeded to Bujumbura, Burundi, where the EAC chair will wrap up his regional peace tour in the DR Congo.
In his statement to the media following his engagement in Rwanda, the EAC chair reiterated the need for the regional heads of state to consider peace paramount for building the regional economic bloc.
President Kiir’s regional tour marked the second phase following his appointment to head the bloc.
The EAC sitting chair of the Heads of State Summit urged the regional leaders to exert more efforts to ensure amnesty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the most affected countries in the region.
Speaking to the media, EAC Secretary General Dr. Peter Mathuki said President Kiir discussed ways of strengthening intra-partner state relations within East Africa partner states, besides peace and security situations within the region, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to a statement from President Kiir’s office, the EAC chair, after concluding his regional three-nation peace tour, will convene the EAC Summit with the view of mending relations between member states and resolving conflicts in the region.
President Kiir, during his peace mission, demonstrated concerns to the Great Lakes region over the escalating insecurity, stating that there is a need to immediately curb the tragedy with the help of the regional heads.
The South Sudan Head of State, after his one-day working trip to Kigali, headed to the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, where he met President Evariste Ndayishimiye. He will conclude his regional tour in Kinshasa, where he will hold similar discussions with DRC President Felix Tshisekedi.
President Salva Kiir, chairperson of the East African Community (EAC), and Rwandan President Paul Kagame held a meeting on Thursday on peace in the region.
In November last year, Kiir pledged to foster regional integration for greater prosperity and strategic security for the region, after assuming the EAAC seat