A joint EAC-SADC summit held in January appointed five former heads of state from Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and South Africa to co-lead the mediation. In April, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta was named the EAC Facilitator to oversee implementation.
President William Ruto and Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa co-chaired a virtual Joint Summit in March, calling for rapid progress in the peace roadmap adopted during earlier meetings in Dar es Salaam and Harare.
The roadmap includes findings from a joint meeting of ministers held on Monday, March 17, in Harare and a separate Chiefs of Defence session on implementing military drawdowns and peace-building strategies.
Other regional leaders who have backed the unified peace push include Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of DRC, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar and Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi.
During Tuesday's briefing, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary for East African Community Caroline Karugu and senior ministry officials including Ambassadors Josphat Maikara and Dennis Mburu, as well as Abdishakur Hussein, Head of EAC and the Great Lakes Region, were also present.
The Nairobi meeting is expected to formalise a unified strategy to de-escalate tensions in the DRC and align ongoing peace operations under a single mediation track.