The UN has accused Rwanda of supporting rebels who have taken over the massive belt of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Three Americans sentenced to death in Congo for failing coup
The three U.S. citizens were among the 37 defendants sentenced to death by a military court on Friday for their role in the failed coup in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has announced between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda that the administration hopes that it will lead to peace in African countries and pave the way for US investment.
Trump said in a social media post on June 20 that he arranged a treaty between the nations and believes Secretary of State Marco Rubio helped unite the nation. He hosted the country’s top diplomats in an oval office on June 27th.
“Only in years they’ll have peace, and that’s a big deal,” Trump said at a previous press conference.
Rubio held a signature ceremony between Foreign Minister Therese Kaikwamba Wagner, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwandan Minister Olivier Ndungere at the State Department just before his meeting with Trump.
The deal was put together as Trump later brokered a ceasefire and his administration began working to end the conflict in Gaza and Ukraine.
The seizure of most of Eastern Congo by the M23 rebel group has killed more than 7,000 people this year alone and expelled over 450,000 people, the DRC government said in February. The area is home to valuable mineral deposits of DRC.
The UN Security Council called on Rwanda to end its support for rebels in a February resolution, urging the two countries to re-engage in diplomatic talks. Rwanda denies supporting rebels.
The Biden administration tried to resolve the conflict, but was unable to secure a deal before one president resigned.
The Trump administration hopes the resolution will put an end to a wider conflict, which has led to the movement of over 7 million people. Within 30 years, conflicts in eastern Congo began occurring after Rwandan genocide caused an estimated 6 million deaths.
More than 18,000 Congolese refugees resettled in the United States in 2023, according to the Department of Homeland Security. It was a major country of refugee nationality that was accepted by the United States that year and in the past decade.
Tommy Piggott, deputy State Department spokesman, said in a June 26th that the signature was a “significant milestone,” but that “paper peace must coincide with implementation on earth.”
A State Department spokesman said the agreement would include territorial integrity, prohibiting hostilities, disarmament, repatriation of refugees, returning internally displaced people and a local economic framework.
This transaction is central to the administration’s approach to conflict reduction around the world. By enabling and promoting economic investment in war-torn countries such as the DRC and Ukraine, the Trump administration hopes to be able to unlock lasting peace deals.
“Durable peace in the Great Lakes region will open the door for greater US and wider Western investment, which will bring economic opportunities and prosperity,” Rubio announced the framework agreement on April 25th. “It’s a win-win for everyone involved, like they call it.”
Businessman Massad Boulos, a senior adviser to the administration in Africa and father-in-law of the president’s young daughter, Tiffany Trump, is working to secure a critical mineral trade with DRC, which could potentially be billions of people in the US.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has substantial reserves of gold, cobalt and premium copper that are inaccessible due to security risks and undeveloped infrastructure, the International Trade Agency says.
Cobalt is used to make rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
