LUANDA, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Angolan Head of State, Joao Lourenco, on Tuesday defended the expansion and consolidation of democracy and fundamental freedoms in which the southern Africa has become, in order to ensure the inclusion of all sectors of the society in the effort to develop the sub-region.

Joao Lourenco was speaking as chair of the SADC Political, Defense and Security Cooperation body at the opening ceremony of the extraordinary summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which is discussing, among others, the political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lesotho.

He said that, therefore, one must have the courage to face, without hesitation, the problems and their causes for the implementation of genuine solutions.

In Luanda, the SADC Double Troika Summit is being led by the Angolan President and bringing together the Heads of State of Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, DRC, King of eSwatini Kingdom, Prime Minister of Lesotho and a representative of Tanzania.

As part of the event, meetings of experts and foreign ministers also took place in the Angolan capital on April 22-23.

The political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Lesotho is the main item on the agenda of the Double Troika Summit, which will also discuss the consolidation of democracy in the southern region of the continent.

The Kingdom of Lesotho is a SADC member country that is in political crisis, aggravated by the murder of two heads of its armed forces by subordinates in 2015 and 2017, prompting the authorities to request intervention by the regional organization that has deployed, last December, a contingent of 269 staff, including the military, police, intelligence staff and civilians.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, preparations are underway for the next elections.

Joao Lourenco had participated in a tripartite summit between Angola, Congo and DRC in February in Kinshasa, which evaluated the preparations for the DRC elections, postponed from December 31, 2017 to December 23, 2018.

The postponement of the election process led the opposition to demand the departure of President Joseph Kabila, who, in the light of the Constitution, is prevented from running for a new term.

The SADC Double Troika is also discussing the political situation in Madagascar, which is expected to hold general elections later this year. The political situation in Madagascar inspires care.

The government of that country wants to introduce changes in the Electoral Law, however, it provoked anti-government protests on April 21, which claimed two lives.