The leaders of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi stand at the most crucial point in their history since decolonization in 60's. Will they continue to squander resources and business opportunities?
Congo would get lasting peace accord while its neighbors would get a "legal" piece of the pie. Share!
Behind President Sarkozy's Africa Trip
French leaders have always been more frequent visitors to Africa than their Western peers, but President Nicolas Sarkozy looks set to eclipse them all in trips to the continent. On Thursday, Sarkozy began his fifth African sojourn in less than three years with a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a violence-plagued Central African nation that of which most Western officials steer well clear. His goal? To sell his ambitious plan economic cooperation aimed at bring peace to some of the region's embattled countries — and in the process restore French influence in Africa.
Given the mix of altruistic and self-serving motives, it's not surprising Sarkozy's trip is inspiring as equal measures of hope and suspicion. The French president kicked off his three-nation swing through the Great Lakes region in Kinshasa, where he praised President Joseph Kabila for reaching agreement in January with leaders of neighboring Rwanda to launch joint military operations against militia groups fighting both regimes from strongholds in eastern Congo. The result, Sarkozy noted, has been an a halt to the massacres that have forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee the area. (See pictures of war and displacement in Congo.)
Sarkozy emphasized economic development and cooperation as the key to cementing the peace, reiterating an earlier proposal that the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi pursue agreements to share resources and pursue joint development of their energy, transport and telecommunications infrastructure. The region's prospects for peace, Sarkozy said, would be greatly boosted by creating a "single market" similar to that of the European Union.
"Structured cooperation brings the certainty that everyone will benefit," Sarkozy said in a speech to the DRC's parliament. "Why not provide more momentum to something already advancing? Why not go even further?"
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