The presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are scheduled to travel to Washington next week to sign a peace deal and meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, three sources told Reuters.
The visit is part of U.S. efforts to broker peace in eastern Congo, which has been ravaged by conflict, and to attract Western mining investment to the region.
Two diplomatic sources and Tina Salama, spokesperson for Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, confirmed to Reuters that the meeting would take place on December 4. A spokesperson for Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
A White House official told Reuters last week that the Trump administration “continues to work with both parties, and looks forward to welcoming them to the White House at the appropriate time.”
The eastern Congo region has been destabilized this year by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, which seized the region’s two largest cities, raising fears of a wider conflict involving neighboring countries. The fighting has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
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Next week’s meeting is expected to build on a U.S.-brokered peace deal reached in June and signed by the countries’ foreign ministers, as well as a Regional Economic Integration Framework agreed earlier this month.
The heads of state are expected to ratify both, Salama said. “The president has always desired regional integration, but respect for sovereignty is non-negotiable and a prerequisite for regional integration,” she added.
The Trump administration has highlighted plans to facilitate billions of dollars in Western investment in the region, which is rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium, and other minerals.
In September, Congo and Rwanda agreed to implement security measures outlined in the June deal by the end of the year.
These include operations to eliminate the threat from the Congo-based armed group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and to facilitate the withdrawal of Rwandan troops. However, there has been little progress on the ground so far.
Rwanda denies backing M23, though a group of United Nations experts reported in July that Rwanda exercises command and control over the rebels.
Qatar has hosted separate talks between Congo and M23, and earlier this month the two sides signed a framework agreement for a peace deal, though many details remain to be negotiated.
Tshisekedi told members of the Congolese diaspora in Serbia that he would travel to Washington, according to a post published by his office on X on Friday, but stressed that “Rwandan troops must withdraw from eastern Congo for there to be true regional economic integration.”
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Image Credit: TRT Afrika
