By SYLVESTER MWALE  in Luanda, Angola –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu yesterday arrived here to attend today’s extra ordinary summit of the international conference on the Great Lakes region aimed at finding peace solutions in member states that have been rocked by internal conflicts.
President Lunga touched down at Forth February International Airport at16:50 hours where he was welcomed by Angolan minister of External Relations, George Chikoti.

. Kalaba

Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba who has been here for the past two days, Zambian Ambassador to Angola Barbara Chilangwa and International Conference on the Great Lakes Region  (ICGLR) Zambia coordinator Solomon Mumbi also joined other officials who braved the scorching heat to welcome the President.
The head of State who was accompanied by North-Western Province Minister Dawson Kafwaya, also received a saluting guard from the Angola defence forces before he went to greet  dozens of Zambians living in Angola who had lined up to meet him at the airport.
Mr Lungu who was second to arrive after Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo is today expected to be among heads of State and government from the Great Lakes that would deliberate on security and humanitarian situation in the 12-member region.
The region consists of Angola, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan and it’s neighbour South Sudan as well as Central African Republic.
Others are Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Zambia.
The ongoing crisis in Burundi where some 18 people have been arrested in connection with the last Friday’s failed coup will probably be on top on the agenda as well as the terrorism problem in Kenya.
Meanwhile, Zambia has been proposed to temporarily host the secretariat of the ICGLR after the region’s headquarters in Bujumbura was forced to close because of the ongoing protests.
The secretariat in the east African country has been affected while a number of its staff are currently detained amid protests against President Pierre Nkuruzinza’s third term bid.
Efforts are currently going on to free those arrested.
But the inter-ministerial conference consisting of Foreign Affairs ministers which also demanded the release of the secretariat staff recommended that Zambia takes over the administration on the temporal basis.
Mr Kalaba who confirmed this to journalists here said Zambia was preferred because it was housing the Centre for Democracy and Good Governance (CDGG) at Mukuba Pension House.
Apart from Zambia, Rwanda has also proposed willingness to host the secretariat of the 12-member states as they wait for peace to return in Bujumbura.