The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, delivered a formal diplomatic message to his Angolan counterpart, João Lourenço, on Friday, July 10, 2026. The correspondence was personally handed over by the DRC’s roving ambassador, Antoine Ghonda Mangalibi, to Angola’s Foreign Minister, Tete António.

While the contents of the message remain undisclosed, this diplomatic exchange occurs against the backdrop of escalating tensions in eastern DRC, where the M23 rebel group, backed by Rwanda, continues to control significant territories in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. Diplomatic initiatives in Washington and Doha have yet to yield sustainable peace agreements.

This development follows a period of intense regional consultations. Kinshasa and Luanda have maintained regular dialogue on bilateral relations and regional security challenges in the Great Lakes area. The exchange comes after consultations conducted by Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye, current African Union chairperson, with religious leaders and opposition figures in DRC.

Another notable diplomatic development involved President Tshisekedi’s recent visit to Brazzaville for discussions with Congo-Brazzaville’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso. This meeting followed a state visit by Ndayishimiye to Kinshasa, during which the Burundian leader also met with DRC’s political and religious leaders.

In February 2026, a high-level meeting in Luanda designated Angola to lead consultations with Congolese stakeholders to prepare for an inter-Congolese dialogue. This decision was announced after a meeting between Angolan President João Lourenço (then AU chair), Félix Tshisekedi, Togolese Prime Minister Faure Gnassingbé (designated AU mediator), and Olusegun Obasanjo (representing the AU’s five former African heads of state panel). Since this designation, diplomatic contacts between Kinshasa and Luanda have intensified, though the inter-Congolese dialogue initiative has not yet achieved the expected results due to ongoing disagreements over format and participation.