The foreign ministers for Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a U.S.-brokered peace deal to end the bloodiest conflict of the 21st century.
The peace agreement, signed on Friday by Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe and Congolese Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, is intended to end fighting between Kinshasa and the Rwandan-backed insurgency in the eastern DRC, led by the rebel group M23. Kinshasa, Kigali, and Washington all hope the agreement will go beyond that, permanently ending hostilities that have claimed over 6 million lives since 1997.
The agreement was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Wagner, and Nduhungirehe in the Harry S. Truman Building, the State Department’s headquarters, in a Friday ceremony. Rubio thanked the two for their work on the agreement, acknowledging the process’s difficulty given the passions involved.
The peace deal calls for the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from the DRC over 90 days, the implementation of an economic integration framework within 90 days, and the establishment of a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days, according to a copy obtained by Reuters.
The agreement follows the logic of the Trump administration’s other international dealings, using economic investment from the United States to give the U.S. a stake in securing peace while reaping economic benefits.
Speaking earlier on Friday, Trump hailed his administration’s role — particularly Rubio and Massad Boulos, Trump’s senior adviser for Africa — in bringing about the peace agreement.
“I’m a little out of my league on that one because I didn’t know too much about it,” Trump said of the conflict between Rwanda and Congo. “I knew one thing: They were going at it for many years with machetes, and it is one of the worst, one of the worst wars anyone’s ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled.”
The foreign ministers later met with Trump in the White House, along with Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. The meeting began with Congolese journalist Hariana Veras praising Trump for his attention and work on ending the conflict, contrasting his approach with his predecessor’s allegedly detached approach. She said he was popular in her home country for his efforts.
“Even myself, I covered President Biden’s administration. I pressed many times about this conflict. People are dying in Congo. This country has so much potential, but they need help, because this war is destroying the country. They never gave me any answer. And [DRC President Felix Tshisekedi] told me … that he’s very … thankful for what you’re doing, for what your administration is doing, not only him, the entire Congolese people, they see that finally, they will have hope,” Veras said.
She added that at the conclusion of her last interview with him, Tshisekedi said he is considering nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, a coveted goal for Trump, as he’s “been working to bring peace in the world, not only in the Congo.”
The president responded by thanking Veras and calling her beautiful, drawing laughter from those present. He then lamented the violence in the region, noting that more people had been killed in the First and Second Congo Wars than in any war since World War II.
“Beautiful, beautiful region, but they had a lot of war, right? A lot of fighting, a lot of death. It’s displaced countless people and claimed the lives of thousands and thousands. But 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 said.
He also gave special thanks to Qatar, Togo, and the African Union for their peace efforts.
Trump warned both Rwanda and the DRC that he would implement “very severe penalties, financial and otherwise,” if either side violated the agreement.
While striking an optimistic tone, Nduhungirehe and Wagner both warned of the prospect of conflict returning, noting the failures of previous agreements. Both agreed that the continued involvement of the U.S. was essential for peace to succeed.
“The second point is: Stay committed, stay on board,” Wagner told Trump. “We need the United States to make sure that this agreement holds, and that you hold us accountable. And the third point is, if you stay on board, I think there are so many perspectives that we can transform our partnerships to and that can usher in an era of prosperity, of growth and of shared bilateral relationships that go well beyond the challenges that we share together, and that can at least, or finally, focus on the potential and of the wealth that we can share.”
Nduhungirehe noted past failures but voiced optimism in an end to the 30-year conflict due to Trump’s leadership and the economic-focused peace deal.
He noted that “there has been many mediation facilitation in the past, but none of them succeeded, and we believe that it’s because of your leadership and your steadfast, steadfast commitment to this process, with also a new approach of economic integration, regional economic integration. … We believe that [we] will achieve longtime peace.”
The peace deal to end the conflict was called the “Washington Accord” by Boulos. Trump noted his approval but joked he wished it could be called the “Trump Accord.”
Rubio congratulated the DRC and Rwanda on the agreement, noting the difficulty in choosing peace over war.
“Wars get a lot more attention than peace, but peace is harder than war, a lot harder. And I want to congratulate both of the leaders here and their respective presidents for choosing the harder path, which is often peace,” he said.
The secretary of state noted earlier that Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame would be “here in Washington in a few weeks to finalize the complete protocol and agreement.”
The peace agreement was presaged by Rubio, Wagner, and Nduhungirehe signing a Declaration of Principles on April 25, in Washington, D.C.
Trump has begun presenting the U.S.-brokered agreement as one of his administration’s greatest accomplishments, lamenting its lack of media coverage amid other wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Despite the failure of previous peace efforts, many experts are optimistic that the new deal could lead to lasting peace in the region.
“This is the best chance we have at a peace process for the moment despite all the challenges and flaws,” Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University in Canada who specializes in Africa’s Great Lakes region, told Reuters.
The most violent round of fighting between the DRC and Rwanda-backed militants blew up in January, when M23 launched an offensive against the capital of North Kivu province, Goma, with a population of nearly 2 million. The DRC and United Nations forces were quickly routed, with their commanders abandoning their troops. Pictures and videos of the city in the aftermath showed abandoned uniforms, equipment, weapons, and vehicles. Thousands were killed in the offensive. M23 has since seized Goma and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.
With his forces struggling, Tshisekedi put his hopes in Trump. According to a Feb. 20 filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, viewed by Africa Confidential, Kinshasa hired U.S. lobbyists on a $1.4 million, yearlong contract to deliver “strategic engagements to advance defense security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government.” Tshisekedi banked his hopes on Trump striking a minerals deal similar to that reached with Ukraine.
Despite being one of the poorest countries on Earth, Congo is one of the most mineral-rich. The country produces significant amounts of copper, diamonds, gold, and cobalt, making up over 80% of the world’s production of the latter. Of particular interest to the U.S., Congo produces significant amounts of 3T minerals — tin, tungsten, and tantalum — which are used in virtually all consumer electronics.
The war is believed to be largely driven by critical minerals in the mineral-rich provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu. Rwanda, a landlocked country roughly one-89th the size of Congo, has utilized Congolese minerals to boost its economy heavily.
WHY IS WAR BREAKING OUT IN THE CONGO
A U.N. report found that 150 tons of coltan, a vital resource used in smartphones and other electronics, were “fraudulently exported to Rwanda and mixed with Rwandan production.” Congo estimates that Kigali is earning $1 billion in annual revenue from the smuggled metals, a massive amount for a country with a $13.3 billion GDP.
The acquisition of the DRC’s mineral wealth will help Washington combat China’s monopoly on Congolese mineral production. According to the U.S. Army War College, Chinese state-owned enterprises control 80% of Congolese cobalt production. The monopoly extends to refining cobalt, with Chinese enterprises controlling between 60% and 90% of cobalt refineries. China relies on this cobalt for many growing industries, such as electric vehicle production.