On 6 October, the AUC convened the First Quadripartite Meeting of the Chiefs of Defence (CDFs) of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the East African Community (EAC), the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as concerned countries of the DRC and the Republic of Rwanda on Coordination and Harmonization of Regional Peace Initiatives in Eastern DRC.

The meeting was convened to ensure coherence and harmonisation in the execution of existing peace initiatives in the region, in line with the decisions of the Quadripartite Summit held in Luanda on 27^th June. The participants deliberated on the existing and planned military deployments in eastern DRC to establish a clear division of labour and the discussions focused on enhancing the coordination of forces deployed in Eastern DRC and modalities for planned deployments in response to the threat posed by the March 23 Movement (M23), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and other armed groups. Both UNOAU and the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO)represented the UN at the meeting. The meeting of the CDFs was preceded by the meeting of experts held on 4 and 5 October.

In the resulting Communiqué, deep concern was expressed over the prevailing insecurity and deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the DRC due to violence and human rights abuses committed by armed groups. The communiqué demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all armed groups and negative forces and called for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the affected populations. It underscored the urgent need for the coordination and harmonization of peace efforts of the Members of the Quadripartite, and therefore called on the AU to immediately operationalize the Multilevel Coordination Working Group composed of the Representatives of the DRC, Rwanda, the AU, the chairs of EAC, ECCAS, ICGLR and SADC, as well as the UN, as endorsed by the 1st Quadripartite Summit of June 2023. In addition, the Communiqué requested the AU and the international community to provide support to the existing and planned deployments. It was further decided that the CDFs of the Quadripartite on Coordination and Harmonization of Regional Peace Initiatives in Eastern DRC, under the umbrella of the Multilevel Coordination Working Group, shall meet twice a year, ahead of any Quadripartite Summit and when required, while the technical military Experts of the Quadripartite Members shall meet on a quarterly basis, coordinated by the AU in close collaboration with the DRC.