Chief of UN mission for DR of Congo calls on Rwandan President

The head of the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda reviewed the process of normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries at a meeting in the Rwandan capital today, the Mission said.

William Lacy Swing, chief of the UN Organization Mission (MONUC) and Secretary General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for the DRC, told Mr. Kagame his visit was to continue to encourage the present rapprochement between the DRC and its neighbours - Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, according to a news release from the Mission.

Mr. Kagame said the visit last month of his Foreign Minister, Charles Murigande, to the DRC capital, Kinshasa, was aimed at supporting the DRC's transition and he was open to any appropriate initiative to improve bilateral relations.

Earlier, Mr. Swing met the new Prosecutor of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Hassan Bubacar Jallow, for talks on intensifying cooperation between MONUC and the court, based in Arusha, Tanzania.

He also met those members of Mr. Kagame's government who are handling peace process-related issues with the DRC, representatives of UN specialized agencies in Kigali and some members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Rwanda.