The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, visited Sant’Egidio today. During a long conversation with the founder Andrea Riccardi, the president Marco Impagliazzo and other leaders of the community, several crucial issues were addressed as relevant to the future of Africa: from conflict resolution to social emergencies, from migration to environmental protection. During the meeting Floribert Bwana Chui was remembered. A young person in charge of Sant’Egidio in Goma, he was killed for his evangelical fight against corruption. His beatification process is underway.
In his greeting Andrea Riccardi, observing that the visit of the Congolese President coincided with the anniversary of the killing of Patrice Lumumba, father of Congo's independence, retraced the important stages that the country is carrying out both internally and internationally as a peacemaker in the region.
President Tshisekedi, recalling the positive role played by Sant'Egidio in the 90s for the inter-Congolese dialogue, congratulated the recent agreement on South Sudan and expressed words of appreciation for the Community's work in the DRC, starting by the DREAM program for the treatment of AIDS patients.
Peace, migration and environment among the topics of the encounter
