Latest news with #ThereseKayikwamba
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
DRC wants peace agreement with Rwanda-backed rebels before July meeting with Trump
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) wants a peace agreement with Rwanda -backed M23 rebels before a planned summit next month between the leaders of the two countries and US president Donald Trump . The countries signed a deal on Friday in Washington where they pledged to support negotiations in Qatar between DRC and the M23, which occupies a large area of mineral-rich eastern DRC including its two largest cities. While the rebels would not necessarily need to withdraw before the presidential meeting, DRC wants 'an agreement' in place that they will, foreign minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner has said. 'I want to be confident that before then we would have something tangible,' Ms Kayikwamba said. 'For us it's extremely important to make sure that we have the commitment at the state level of Rwanda, but also that we have commitments at the level of the M23.' The US-brokered deal marks Mr Trump's latest attempt at forging peace, after he claimed he would resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Israel's war in Gaza soon after taking office. It is far from certain: along with the M23, which is not party to the deal, the Congolese government will still need to negotiate with scores of other armed rebel groups that operate in eastern DRC. READ MORE M23 relaunched a rebellion in 2021, saying it was protecting the rights of ethnic Tutsis and other speakers of the Rwandan language in DRC. Rwanda denies supporting the M23 but has backed proxy armed groups in eastern DRC for decades, citing security concerns, particularly the continued existence of a rebel group known as the FDLR with links to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The 'neutralisation' of the FDLR was one of the first priorities of Friday's US-brokered agreement. [ Rwanda-backed rebels claim control of key DR Congo city of Goma Opens in new window ] Ms Kayikwamba said the government is ready to begin that process through a sensitisation campaign in the communities where the FDLR have lived for years 'to offer to them the opportunity to withdraw, to surrender, and to be repatriated in their country'. Multiple military campaigns over the past two decades have decimated the group, but some parts of DRC's army have continued to work with FDLR forces against the M23, according to United Nations experts. M23's military and political leadership did not respond to multiple emails and text messages requesting comment. Rwanda's disengagement 'includes the movement of troops, the movement of equipment, the movements of infrastructures and so on', Ms Kayikwamba said. As the violence subsides, the countries are planning a regional economic integration pact that could include joint ventures to mine and process eastern DRC's vast mineral resources, which include gold, tin and tantalum. The subject is a sensitive one for the country, Ms Kayikwamba said. DRC, US , European Union and United Nations experts have long accused Rwanda and other neighbours of stealing DRC's natural resources. A $760 million hydropower plant on the Ruzizi river that will provide power to Rwanda, Congo and Burundi is the first priority, Ms Kayikwamba said. 'I think that is a project that is emblematic for regional integration,' she said. The commitment of the Trump administration could help the detente succeed where so many others have failed, Ms Kayikwamba said. 'What's different now is that we have an agreement with a level of buy-in and of political commitment that we haven't had in a very, very long time in the DRC or in the Great Lakes region,' she said. 'It also shows a paradigm shift on the side of the US, which means that they would rather invest in peace in order to invest further.' - Bloomberg
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Congo Wants M23 Peace Agreement Before July Meeting with Trump
The Democratic Republic of Congo wants a peace agreement with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels before a planned summit next month between the leaders of the two nations and US President Donald Trump. The countries signed a deal Friday in Washington where they pledged to support ongoing negotiations in Qatar between Congo and the M23, which occupies a large swath of mineral-rich eastern Congo including its two largest cities. While the rebels wouldn't necessarily need to withdraw before the presidential meeting, Congo wants 'an agreement' in place that they will, Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told Bloomberg in an interview on Saturday.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
DR Congo, Rwanda sign peace deal in ‘turning point' after years of conflict
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have signed a peace deal in the United States to end years of fighting between the neighbouring countries. Meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, on Friday, foreign ministers from the two African countries signed the agreement that was mediated by the US and Qatar. The deal would see Kinshasa and Kigali launching a regional economic integration framework within 90 days and forming a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days. Under its terms, thousands of Rwandan soldiers are to withdraw from the DRC within three months. It raises hopes for an end to fighting that has escalated with the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the DRC's mineral-rich provinces of North and South Kivu this year. The conflict has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more since January. The escalation is just the latest in a decades-old cycle of tensions and violence, rooted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. 'This moment has been long in coming. It will not erase the pain, but it can begin to restore what conflict has robbed many women, men and children of safety, dignity and a sense of future,' said Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner. 'So now our work truly begins,' she added at the signing, saying the agreement would have to be followed by 'disengagement, justice, and the return of displaced families, and the return of refugees, both to the DRC and Rwanda'. 'Those who have suffered the most are watching. They are expecting this agreement to be respected, and we cannot fail them,' she Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said that the agreement heralded a 'turning point'. While Rwanda denies accusations it is backing M23, Kigali has demanded an end to another armed group in the DRC – the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – which was established by Hutus linked to the killings of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. During the signing, he insisted on 'an irreversible and verifiable end' to the DRC's 'support' for the FDLR. The agreement calls for the 'neutralisation' of the FDLR. Reporting from Goma, the capital of the DRC's North Kivu province, Al Jazeera's Alain Uaykani said the deal was a 'big step', but there was 'confusion' on the ground over the absence of any mention of when the M23 rebels would withdraw. 'Rwanda [is] always saying that they are not the ones who should ask M23 to leave, because this is a Congolese problem,' he said, adding that the rebels were appointing governors and controlling airports in the DRC's provinces of North and South Kivu, whose capital cities they seized in January and February. Kinshasa, the United Nations and Western powers say Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms. The deal does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 but calls for Rwanda to end 'defensive measures' it has taken. Rwanda has sent at least a few thousand soldiers over the border in support of M23, according to UN experts, analysts and DRC-Rwanda deal will also help the US government and American companies gain access to critical minerals like tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium needed for much of the world's technology at a time when the US and China are actively competing for influence in Africa. Ahead of the signing on Friday, US President Donald Trump said, 'We're getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it. They're so honoured to be here. They never thought they'd be coming.' Welcoming the foreign ministers to the White House, he said: 'The violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity. This is a wonderful day.' The DRC sits on vast untapped reserves of mineral wealth, estimated to be worth around $24 trillion. It has said it is losing around $1bn worth of minerals in illegal trading facilitated by the war. The agreement was mediated through Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-American businessman and father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, who was appointed by the president as a senior advisor on Africa. 'This is an important moment after 30 years of war,' said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who hosted the two foreign ministers at the Department of State for the signing of the agreement. 'It's about allowing people to live. It's about allowing people to now have dreams and hopes for a better life, for prosperity, for economic opportunity, for a family reunification, for all the things that make life worth living. 'Those things become impossible when there's war and when there's conflict,' he added. Analysts see the deal as a major turning point but do not believe it will quickly end the fighting that has killed millions of people since the 1990s.
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
DR Congo, Rwanda sign peace deal in ‘turning point' after years of conflict
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have signed a peace deal in Washington, DC, to end years of fighting between the neighbouring countries. Meeting in the White House in the United States on Friday, foreign ministers from the two African countries signed an agreement brokered by the US and Qatar. The deal would see Kinshasa and Kigali launching a regional economic integration framework within 90 days and forming a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days. Under its terms, thousands of Rwandan soldiers are to withdraw from the DRC within three months. It raises hopes for an end to fighting that has escalated with the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the DRC's mineral-rich provinces of North and South Kivu this year. The conflict has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more since January. The escalation is just the latest in a decades-old cycle of tensions and violence, rooted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. 'This moment has been long in coming. It will not erase the pain, but it can begin to restore what conflict has robbed many women, men and children of safety, dignity and a sense of future,' said Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner. 'So now our work truly begins,' she added at the signing, saying the agreement would have to be followed by 'disengagement, justice, and the return of displaced families, and the return of refugees, both to the DRC and Rwanda'. 'Those who have suffered the most are watching. They are expecting this agreement to be respected, and we cannot fail them,' she said. M23 and FDLR Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said that the agreement heralded a 'turning point'. While Rwanda denies accusations it is backing M23, Kigali has demanded an end to another armed group in the DRC – the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – which was established by Hutus linked to the killings of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. During the signing, he insisted on 'an irreversible and verifiable end' to the DRC's 'support' for the FDLR. The agreement calls for the 'neutralisation' of the FDLR. Reporting from Goma, the capital of the DRC's North Kivu province, Al Jazeera's Alain Uaykani said the deal was a 'big step', but there was 'confusion' on the ground over the absence of any mention of when the M23 rebels would withdraw. 'Rwanda [is] always saying that they are not the ones who should ask M23 to leave, because this is a Congolese problem,' he said, adding that the rebels were appointing governors and controlling airports in the DRC's provinces of North and South Kivu, whose capital cities they seized in January and February. Kinshasa, the United Nations and Western powers say Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms. The deal does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 but calls for Rwanda to end 'defensive measures' it has taken. Rwanda has sent at least a few thousand soldiers over the border in support of M23, according to UN experts, analysts and diplomats. Critical minerals The DRC-Rwanda deal will also help the US government and American companies gain access to critical minerals like tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium needed for much of the world's technology at a time when the US and China are actively competing for influence in Africa. On Friday, US President Trump said, 'We're getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it. They're so honoured to be here. They never thought they'd be coming.' The DRC sits on vast untapped reserves of mineral wealth, estimated to be worth around $24 trillion. It has said it is losing around $1bn worth of minerals in illegal trading facilitated by the war. The agreement was mediated through Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-American businessman and father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, who was appointed by the president as a senior advisor on Africa. 'This is an important moment after 30 years of war,' said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who hosted the two foreign ministers at the Department of State in Washington for the signing of the agreement. 'It's about allowing people to live. It's about allowing people to now have dreams and hopes for a better life, for prosperity, for economic opportunity, for a family reunification, for all the things that make life worth living. 'Those things become impossible when there's war and when there's conflict,' he added. Analysts see the deal as a major turning point but do not believe it will quickly end the fighting that has killed millions of people since the 1990s.
