The Kenyan Government on Wednesday expressed optimism that the recently signed ceasefire will hold in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).
President Mwai Kibaki commended the international community for mobilizing efforts to restore stability in DR Congo and in the entire Great Lakes region.
President Kibaki made the remarks in his meeting with visiting UN special envoy in DR Congo President Olusegun Obasanjo and African Union mediator President Benjamin Mkapa.

He said their discussions, among others, include an extraordinary summit of countries in the Great Lakes region this year.
The co-facilitators of ceasefire briefed President Kibaki, also chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, on the latest development in peace and stability in DR Congo, including the joint military operation of Congo and Rwanda.
The Congolese-Rwandan operations, which was launched on January 20, led to the arrest of Laurent Nkunda, the leader of the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), removing the major threat to the government. It also dealt a heavy blow at the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), before ending in February.
"The two members of the panel of the Eminent African Personalities have also witnessed the signing of a Peace Agreement in Goma between the Government of DRC and CNDP on 23rd March this year," an official statement said.
President Kibaki praised the two eminent African leaders for their achievements, particularly the cessation of hostilities among the parties to the conflict.
President Obasanjo and President Mkapa told President Kibaki that the CNDP has since been transformed into a political party and committed to seeking solutions through political means and upholding state laws.

Meanwhile, the two former African presidents warned that the presence of illegal armed groups continues to threaten peace, hoping political leaders in the region join hands in uprooting insurgency.
The mediators said DR Congo has applied for an observer status in the East African Community, whishing to become a full member of the grouping.