The President of the Senate, Rt. Hon. Dr. François Xavier Kalinda, joined fellow Speakers and Heads of Delegation of the Forum of Parliaments of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (FP-ICGLR) at its 15th Ordinary Session of the Plenary Assembly under the theme “Inclusive Leadership and Decision Making in the Region”, taking place in Luanda from April 23 to 25, 2025.

The session brings together parliamentary leaders from the 12 ICGLR Member States to discuss and adopt key resolutions on the security, political, and humanitarian situations across the region.

The President of the Senate participated in the Conference of Speakers of the Forum of Parliaments of the ICGLR, which had key items on the agenda, including the security situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the election of the new Secretary General of the FP-ICGLR.

Following the Conference of Speakers of the Forum of Parliaments of the ICGLR, the Senate President, Rt. Hon. Dr Kalinda joined fellow Speakers and Heads of Delegation for a high-level meeting with H.E. João Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola. The parliamentary leaders briefed President Lourenço on the Forum’s ongoing efforts to promote peace, security, democracy, and inclusive governance within the Great Lakes Region. Discussions also touched on recent regional developments, including the security situation in eastern DRC and the election of a new Secretary General for the Forum.

On the sidelines of the Forum of Parliaments of the ICGLR Assembly Session, the Senate President met with Hon. Mussa Zungu, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania and discussed ways of enhancing cooperation through parliamentary diplomacy and strengthening bilateral parliamentary relations between Rwanda and Tanzania.