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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 28876, member: 2262"] High-ranking officials from SADC met with their East African Community counterparts yesterday in Harare. They prepared for a Council of Ministers meeting happening today about the growing trouble in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This comes right after SADC pulled its troops out of the war-torn area. The move shows how badly peace talks need to happen fast. Zimbabwe's Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Albert Chimbindi, ran the meeting alongside Kenya's Edward Rugendo. They talked about how bad things have become for people living in eastern DRC, especially women and children who suffer most. Chimbindi started by asking everyone to work together. He mentioned their regret that despite earlier work, everything keeps getting worse instead of better. He said their meeting proves they truly want lasting peace as part of making Africa better. Chimbindi stressed that they must follow plans from the recent EAC-SADC summit, which called for clear steps toward peace. The officials looked at a road map with short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans for fixing the crisis. Their plan creates a special team to track how well joint decisions work out—an important part of dealing with leftover problems related to keeping peace in eastern DRC. Rugendo pointed out they should learn from past attempts to help, including what the United Nations did and what happened with the East African Community Regional Force. He said problems in Eastern DRC have existed for years, with many groups trying different solutions. All these groups learned important lessons from both what worked and what failed. Rugendo pushed for talks that included everyone to address the real causes of fighting, just like UN Security Council Resolution 2773 says fighting alone cannot solve these problems. Yesterday's talks will shape what happens at today's bigger meeting. Both leaders emphasized working together matters most. Rugendo said they cannot disappoint their ministers and need open minds and teamwork to find answers that last. The eastern DRC situation threatens everyone's safety across multiple regions. Today's Council meeting should create effective plans to bring back peace. The combined efforts of SADC and EAC highlight why regional teamwork matters when tackling complicated security challenges. As these two groups coordinate their response, they keep focusing on bringing lasting peace to eastern DRC—something vital for everyone's success in both the SADC and EAC regions. [/QUOTE]

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