Congo, Rwanda Sign US-Backed Peace Deal to End Years of War
(Bloomberg) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda agreed to a US-backed peace deal meant to end years of deadly conflict and promote development in Congo's volatile eastern region.
Foreign ministers from the two countries signed the accord Friday in the presence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office later in the day.
'Today the violence and destruction comes to an end and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity, harmony, prosperity and peace,' Trump told reporters with Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and Congo's Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and her Rwandan counterpart, Olivier Nduhungirehe, at his side.
The peace deal commits the two countries to cease hostilities and halt support for armed groups. It also envisions allowing refugees and displaced people to return home as well as increased economic integration between the countries, with the potential for US investment.
'My administration will continue to work with all of the parties in this deal and ensure the agreements are fully taken care of and you're gonna do what's in the agreement,' Trump said.
'Because if somebody fails to do that, bad things happen,' he added, and later mentioned the possibility of 'very severe penalties, financial and otherwise.'
The accord may bring an end to the occupation of a large swath of mineral-rich eastern Congo by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group.
The M23 says it's protecting the rights of ethnic Tutsis and other speakers of the Rwandan language in Congo. Officials there say the M23 and its Rwandan supporters are mainly interested in the region's minerals, including gold, tin and tantalum, which is used in most portable electronics.
Trump said Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congo's president, Felix Tshisekedi, have been invited to Washington in July.
Separate peace talks between Congo and the M23 are continuing, overseen by the government of Qatar.
'We will lend our full support in the weeks ahead to Qatar's efforts' for the two parties to come to an agreement, Rwanda's Nduhungirehe said.
'The first order of business' will be for Congo to 'neutralize' a Hutu rebel group in eastern Congo, known as the FDLR, with links to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, 'accompanied by the lifting of Rwanda's defensive measures,' Nduhungirehe said. More than 800,000 people were killed in the genocide that targeted the country's Tutsi minority in the span of about 100 days.
Why Congo, Rwanda Agreed to End Three Decades of War: QuickTake
Around six million people are currently displaced by conflict in eastern Congo, making it one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
'This moment has been long in coming,' Kayikwamba said. 'It will not erase the pain, but it can begin to restore what conflict has robbed many women men and children of: safety, dignity and a sense of future.'
The two countries are also working on an economic pact as part of the agreement that could be signed next month, according to Trump's senior adviser for Africa, Massad Boulos.
There are also ongoing bilateral investment talks with both countries to invest in their mineral supply chains, he said.
'Many American companies have shown interest,' Boulos said, adding that the US was already negotiating a critical minerals deal with Congo.
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(Updates with Trump's comments throughout.)
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