DRC, Rwanda Sign Peace Deal, Open Critical Mineral Resources to U.S.

WASHINGTON, Xinhua: U.S. President Donald Trump hosted his counterparts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda here on Thursday, witnessing them signing a peace deal aimed to end a decades-long conflict in eastern DRC while opening their critical mineral resources to the United States.

Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC and Paul Kagame of Rwanda signed the deal at a ceremony held at the U.S. Institute of Peace, which was renamed “Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace” by the State Department one day earlier.

Eastern DRC has been gripped by decades of conflict, compounded by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels’ resurgence since late 2021. The DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting the group, an allegation the latter denies.

At the ceremony, Trump also announced U.S. bilateral agreements with the two African countries, under which U.S. companies will gain access to the region’s critical minerals.

“And we’ll be involved with sending some of our biggest and greatest U.S. companies over to the two countries,” Trump said.

Trump held separate meetings with the two African leaders in the White House on Thursday morning.

In June, an earlier peace deal was signed by foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda in Washington.

The DRC military and the M23 rebels on Tuesday traded accusations of violating a ceasefire in the country’s east, with each side blaming the other for fresh attacks despite international mediation.