Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo Sign U.S.-Brokered Peace Agreement

AP

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Rwanda and Congo Foreign Ministers.

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a United States-brokered peace agreement on Friday, 27 June 2025, raising hopes for an end to the conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.

The agreement represents a significant breakthrough in negotiations facilitated by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. It is intended to pave the way for billions of pounds in Western investment in a region abundant in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium, and other valuable minerals.

At a ceremony with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, the two African countries' foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days, according to a copy seen by Reuters.

"They were going at it for many years, and with machetes - it is one of the worst, one of the worst wars that anyone has ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled," President Trump said on Friday, ahead of the signing of the deal in Washington.

"We're getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it. They're so honored to be here. They never thought they'd be coming."

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the agreement a turning point. Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said it must be followed by disengagement.

President Trump later met both officials in the Oval Office, where he presented them with letters inviting Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame to Washington to sign a package of agreements that Massad Boulos, U.S. President's senior adviser for Africa, dubbed the "Washington Accord".

Furthermore, the U.S. President warned of "very severe penalties, financial and otherwise", if the agreement is violated.

Analysts and diplomats report that Rwanda has deployed at least 7,000 soldiers across the border in support of the M23 rebels, who earlier this year seized eastern Congo’s two largest cities and key mining regions in a rapid offensive. These gains by M23 mark the latest escalation in a conflict rooted in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, raising fears that the violence could expand and draw in neighbouring countries. The M23’s advances have not only displaced hundreds of thousands but have also heightened concerns over regional stability, given the lucrative mineral wealth at stake and the potential for a broader war.

The agreement signed on Friday gives Congo and Rwanda three months to launch a framework "to expand foreign trade and investment derived from regional critical mineral supply chains".

It also says Congo and Rwanda will form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months.

Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)—a Congo-based armed group comprising remnants of Rwanda’s former army and militias responsible for the 1994 genocide—are scheduled to conclude within the same timeframe as the peace agreement.

According to a Reuters report on Thursday, Congolese negotiators dropped an earlier demand for the immediate withdrawal of Rwandan troops from eastern Congo, thereby facilitating the signing ceremony held on Friday.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, alongside the United Nations and Western powers, has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels by providing troops and weaponry. Rwanda, however, has consistently denied these allegations, maintaining that its forces are acting in self-defence against both the Congolese army and ethnic Hutu militias linked to the 1994 genocide, including the FDLR.



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