President William Ruto will co-chair a high-level virtual summit today alongside Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, bringing together leaders from the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to address the escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to statements from the SADC secretariat and the EAC, the meeting will build on discussions from the joint EAC-SADC Ministerial Meeting held on March 17 in Harare, Zimbabwe.

“The Heads of State and Government of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will convene their second joint Summit on March 24, 2025, to address the critical security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),” part of the statement read.

The summit will also include representatives from SADC Troika member states—Angola, Madagascar, Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia—along with South Africa, which has deployed troops to support stabilization efforts in the DRC. The DRC government will also be represented.

This marks the second such crisis meeting convened by President Ruto, following an emergency summit in January. At that time, he had announced urgent deliberations on the security crisis, with both DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame initially confirming attendance. However, Tshisekedi later withdrew due to scheduling conflicts.

The upcoming summit is expected to outline a coordinated response to the worsening situation in the DRC, where clashes between government forces and rebel groups have intensified, displacing thousands.