WASHINGTON, Dec 4 – The leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have signed a peace deal aimed at ending the long-running conflict in the region at a summit hosted by US President Donald Trump in Washington.
At the beginning of the event at the newly-renamed Donald J Trump Institute of Peace, US President Donald Trump said the peace ceremony was a “great day” for Africa and the world.
“I have a lot of confidence in both leaders,” Trump added. “We’ll keep these commitments. I know they’re going to keep them and follow through on the agreement and create a much brighter future for the people of their countries,” Trump said..
Trump got the two countries’ foreign ministers to sign a peace accord in June, hailing it as a “glorious triumph”.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame praised Trump as an “even-handed” leader who is “never taking sides”.
Kagame described Trump’s approach as pragmatic and said that “as a result, we have the clearest and most viable path forward that we have ever had.”
DRC’s Felix Tshisekedi expressed “deep gratitude and clear hope”, while at the same time saying he hoped Rwanda will “respect the letter and spirit of the deal”.
A number of African leaders attended the signing ceremony also endorsed the treaty. They include leaders from Angola, Burundi, Kenya, Togo, and Uganda respectively.
The Foreign Ministers of Qatar and the UAE also were in attendance, as was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Ahead of the summit, there was an escalation in fighting in resource-rich eastern DR Congo between government forces and rebels believed to be backed by Rwanda.
DR Congo’s army accused its rivals of attempting to “sabotage” the peace process, but the M23 rebels said the army had launched an offensive in breach of a ceasefire.
At the start of 2025, the M23 seized large parts of eastern DR Congo in an offensive that saw thousands killed and many more forced from their homes.
