Kabila
said his priorities were to re-establish peace and state authority and spur
economic development in the war-torn country.

"In
line with the transparent policy I have adopted since I came to power, a
government of national unity will soon be put in place," he told
parliament.

"This
government will include members of the ruling majority as well as the
opposition and civil society," said Kabila, who was re-elected in a
disputed 2011 poll.

Kabila
also pledged to allow the remains of former president Joseph Mobutu back into
the country from Morocco
— an announcement that won him applause from lawmakers.

Mobutu,
who ruled from 1965 to 1997, was chased from DR Congo by Kabila's own father,
Laurent, who was assassinated in 2001.

The
move is seen as a highly symbolic gesture to the significant number of
Congolese that hold Mobutu in high regard.

Kabila
also agreed to introduce quotas for female candidate in elections.

He is
locked in peace talks with M23 rebels operating in restive eastern DR Congo and
in a diplomatic spat with Rwanda
and Uganda,
accused of supporting those rebels.

Eastern DR Congo, a trove of mineral resources
including gold, was a key battleground in successive wars between 1996 and 2003
as rival armies scrambled for control of its riches.

Despite
its potential, the impoverished nation sits second from the bottom of 187
countries in the UN's Human Development Index for 2013, and atrocities
including the use of child soldiers, widespread rape and civilian murders are
common.

Prime
Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo, who has the backing of the international
community, is expected to keep his post, said a source close to the government
who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The
source added that a new administration could see the return to power of a number
of heavyweights who were dropped from the political line-up when Ponyo formed
his current cabinet in May 2012.

The
president called on the national electoral commission (CENI) to organise
municipal, local and senatorial elections, delayed by a political crisis after
the 2011 vote.