Burundi turns down invite to attend Goma peace summit

Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi is set to host regional leaders at Goma next week. [Courtesy]

The Burundian government has turned down an invitation by Kinshasa to take part in the Heads of State summit Goma slated for September 13.

In a last-minute confirmation, Burundi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs through a diplomatic correspondence seen by Standard Digital to Kinshasa said Bujumbura has a very ‘’busy calendar’’ which, unfortunately, doesn’t allow them to take part in the summit.

The letter dated September 8 further reads, Burundi prefers to engage in bilateral talks first with Kinshasa in order to iron out issues affecting the two nations.

The Quadripartite summit will be hosted by DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi, which will see, Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and their Angolan counterpart João Lourenço engage on matters Regional security and peace.

Burundi’s decision of not to attend the summit, which would have marked the first diplomatic outing of the Burundian President General Evariste Ndayishimiye with his regional peers since he came to power three months ago clearly shows the hostility among the Great lake’s region neighbours.

More to follow…