The Gabonese Foreign Minister Emmanuel Issozet Ngondet on Wednesday expressed the hope of seeing serious and frank negotiations taking place to restore peace in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

He made the appeal after meeting in Kinshasa with DR Congo President Joseph Kabila to whom he had come to deliver a message from Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

"Gabon strongly condemns and deplores the prevailing security situation in North-Kivu province, Ngondet affirmed.

He said that his country was always involved in efforts to help African countries in a crisis to find peace through negotiations and consultations which, according to him, are the only ways of finding lasting solutions.

"When Gabon was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, she was following with a lot of attention what was happening in North-Kivu and worked closely with the United Nations Mission for Stabilization of Congo (MONUSCO) and the Congolese government, with a view of pushing the Security Council to take decisions which are in the interest of DR Congo," the Gabonese minister said.

He urged the neighboring countries to make more substantial efforts to ensure that fighting in North-Kivu ceases and that serious negotiations are carried out to ensure that peace is restored in the east of DR Congo.

The Gabonese minister confirmed that the 14th summit of the Francophonie will still go on in Kinshasa in the month of October.