ALBAWABA- U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated what he called a “great day for Africa, great day for the WORLD” as Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi signed a sweeping peace and economic accord at the White House on Thursday.
Flanked by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump cast the deal as a signature diplomatic achievement, asserting it will help end decades of bloodshed in eastern Congo while expanding U.S. access to the DRC’s critical mineral reserves. “This ends 30 years of senseless war, jobs, prosperity, and peace for millions. America leads again,” he declared.
The agreement formalizes commitments made under the June 27 Washington Accord and the November Qatar-mediated framework with M23 rebels.
It requires Rwanda to withdraw its forces within 90 days, obliges the DRC to dismantle the FDLR militia, and establishes joint security mechanisms.
Trump praises Syrian transition, warns Israel against actions that could destabilize borderThe deal also launches the Regional Economic Integration Framework, a U.S.-backed plan to integrate the region’s economies through mining investments, projected to generate $10 billion annually, alongside new trade corridors and infrastructure projects. Both Kigali and Kinshasa praised the accord’s potential, with the DRC confirming U.S. involvement in future mineral contracts.
The pact follows months of U.S.-Qatar-African Union mediation after M23’s January offensive, allegedly supported by thousands of Rwandan troops, seized Goma and Bukavu and displaced more than 1.7 million people.
The conflict, rooted in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, still involves over 120 armed groups competing for eastern Congo’s mineral wealth.
