Washington/Kinshasa/Kigali: The United States is intensifying its efforts to broker a peace accord between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, with the goal of finalizing an agreement at the White House within two months. The accord would be accompanied by major bilateral mineral agreements, potentially unlocking billions of dollars in Western investment, according to President Donald Trump’s senior advisor for Africa, Massad Boulos.
“When we sign the peace agreement … the minerals deal with the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) will be signed on that day, and then a similar package, but of a different size, will be signed on that day with Rwanda,” Boulos told Reuters during an interview in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
The proposed peace agreement comes at a time of escalating conflict in eastern Congo, where M23 rebels—allegedly backed by Rwanda—continue to make significant territorial advances. Although Rwanda denies supporting the group, the situation has exacerbated a decades-long conflict in a region abundant in valuable resources such as gold, tantalum, and coltan.
As part of a diplomatic framework agreed upon in Washington last week, both countries are expected to submit separate drafts of a peace agreement by Friday. The Democratic Republic of Congo has not yet issued a response, according to Reuters’ report.
According to Boulos, a pivotal meeting is scheduled for mid-May in Washington, where U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host the foreign ministers of both nations to negotiate the final version of the accord.
However, the peace deal is contingent on additional conditions. Both Congo and Rwanda must first finalize separate economic agreements with the United States. These agreements are set to channel substantial American and Western investments into mining operations and infrastructure projects across both countries. This includes support for mineral processing initiatives, particularly in Rwanda.
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“The (agreement) with the D.R.C. is at a much bigger scale, because it’s a much bigger country and it has much more resources, but Rwanda also has a lot of resources and capacities and potential in the area of mining as well … not just the upstream, but also midstream and downstream to processing and refining and trading,” Boulos said.
He also noted that Western companies have signaled readiness to make multi-billion-dollar investments in both countries once the bilateral mineral deals are formalized.
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The U.S. has also laid out security preconditions for the success of the peace accord. Rwanda must withdraw its forces from Congolese territory and cease its alleged support for M23 rebels. At the same time, Congo is expected to address Kigali’s security concerns regarding militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which operates in its territory.
To monitor compliance and progress toward the peace agreement, a follow-up committee was appointed on Wednesday. The committee includes representatives from the United States, Qatar, France, and Togo, which is representing the African Union.
