Rwanda and DR Congo sign peace deal, as Trump cheers mineral rights for US
The US-brokered agreement raises hopes for an end to the fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a US-brokered peace agreement on Friday, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.
The agreement marks a breakthrough in talks held by US President Donald Trump’s administration and aims to attract billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.
At a ceremony with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, the two African countries’ foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days, according to a version initialled by technical teams last week and seen by Reuters.
Kinshasa and Kigali will also launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said.
“They were going at it for many years, and with machetes – it is one of the worst, one of the worst wars that anyone has ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled,” Trump said on Friday, ahead of the signing of the deal in Washington.
“We’re getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it. They’re so honoured to be here. They never thought they’d be coming.”