RWANDA and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a peace deal in Washington aimed at ending decades of devastating conflict between the two neighbours, and potentially granting the US lucrative mineral access.
The deal demands the “disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration” of armed groups fighting in eastern DR Congo.
Further details are scant and previous peace deals in the region have failed – yet that has not deterred the US and Congolese presidents from framing this as a generational victory.
“Today, the violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity,” US President Donald Trump said on Friday.
Flanked by Vice-President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and delegates from DR Congo and Rwanda in the Oval Office, Trump called the peace treaty “a glorious triumph”.
“This is a tremendous breakthrough,” Trump said, shortly before adding his signature to the peace treaty signed earlier by the respective African delegates.
The deal was signed by the Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers at the US State Department.
“Another diplomatic success for President Félix Tshisekedi – certainly the most important in over 30 years,” said the Congolese president’s office, ahead of the signing.
There has been talk of Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame going to Washington to meet Trump together, though no date has been fixed.
When tensions between the two countries escalated at the beginning of this year, Qatar intensified de-escalation efforts, according to a diplomat briefed on the negotiations.
Qatar sent envoys to both capitals to urge de-escalation, and after the Congolese and Rwandan presidents met in Doha, a joint committee was established, supported by the US, the diplomat added.
Decades of conflict escalated earlier this year when M23 rebels seized control of large parts of eastern DR Congo including the regional capital, Goma, the city of Bukavu and two airports.
Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of civilians forced from their homes following the recent rebel offensive.
After the loss of territory, the government in Kinshasa turned to the US for help, reportedly offering access to critical minerals in exchange for security guarantees. Eastern DR Congo is rich in coltan and other resources vital to the global electronics industries.