“It’s an important moment after thirty years of war,” declared U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, during a ceremony at the State Department alongside his Rwandan and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) counterparts. However, he added that there was still “a lot to be done.”
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda signed a peace agreement on Friday, June 27, under the auspices of the United States, aimed at ending the conflict in eastern DRC, which has claimed thousands of lives. This agreement, which U.S. President Donald Trump praised himself for securing, is based on a declaration of principles approved in April by both countries. It includes provisions on “respect for territorial integrity and cessation of hostilities” following the offensive by the M23 armed group (March 23 Movement).
The agreement was formally signed on Friday during a ceremony in Washington, attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner and Olivier Nduhungirehe, respectively. “It’s an important moment after thirty years of war,” reiterated the U.S. diplomat, though noting that there was still “a lot of work to be done.”
“Today, the violence and destruction come to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity, harmony, prosperity, and peace,” declared U.S. President Donald Trump alongside the two countries’ foreign ministers. “It’s a wonderful day,” he added.
The agreement is “based on the commitment made here to end, in an irreversible and verifiable manner, the [Congolese] state’s support for the [Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda] and associated militias,” said the Rwandan minister. Trump’s Africa advisor, Massad Boulos, stated that Kigali agrees to “lift Rwanda’s defensive measures,” even though the agreement does not explicitly mention the M23. “This peace agreement is only the beginning, not the end,” said the Congolese minister.
The two ministers will be received in the afternoon by Donald Trump at the White House, who earlier in the day welcomed the signing of the agreement. “You know, they’ve been fighting for years. And there were machetes. It was violent. And today we are signing a peace treaty. For the first time in many years, they will experience peace. It’s a big deal,” he said.
A Deadly War Lasting Around Thirty Years
The agreement was developed last week during three days of “constructive dialogue focused on political, security, and economic interests” between representatives of the DRC and Rwanda in Washington. It also includes provisions for the “disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups,” as well as a “joint security coordination mechanism.”
Qatar also acted as a mediator and had received both Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DRC President Félix Tshisekedi in Doha in mid-March. The two leaders may be received by Donald Trump at the White House in July. While Washington “led the negotiations between the Rwandan and Congolese governments,” Qatar handled “the negotiations between the Congolese government and the M23,” according to a source familiar with the agreement who spoke to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The M23, militarily supported by Rwanda according to UN and U.S. experts, seized the major cities of Goma in January and Bukavu in February in a lightning offensive that caused thousands of deaths.
Eastern DRC, rich in natural resources and bordering Rwanda, has been plagued by violence for more than thirty years. Multiple ceasefires have been signed and violated since the M23 resumed operations in eastern DRC in 2021. Fighting with government and allied forces has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Kigali denies militarily supporting the M23 but claims that its security has long been threatened by armed groups, notably the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), founded by former Hutu leaders linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Few details have been released about the economic component, but the Congolese president mentioned in April a mining agreement with Special Advisor Massad Boulos during a visit to Kinshasa. As the world’s largest producer of cobalt, the DRC — Africa’s second-largest country — also holds at least 60% of the world’s coltan reserves in its subsoil, a strategic mineral for the electronics industry, which strongly interests President Trump.
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