Elegant in his slightly baggy Kinshasa-style suit, President Joseph Kabila (AC Vol 42 No 2) won new friends in Washington, New York and Brussels. 'Le Petit', as some Belgian and French officials patronisingly call him, is not convivial like his late father, Laurent-Désiré; he is a quiet non-smoker who fitted in well at a fundamentalist prayer breakfast in Washington - a rival in sobriety to Rwanda's austere Paul Kagame, whom the American hosts persuaded to shake hands with his fellow-guest. Ex-General Colin Powell, the new Secretary of State, declared himself impressed by the ex-major general's desire for peace, in line with the Lusaka accord of July 1999.
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