The United States government on Friday brokered a peace agreement between the Congo and Rwanda governments as part of diplomatic efforts to end violence in eastern Congo.
Both countries vowed to come up with a draft peace deal by May 2 and refrain from providing military support to armed groups.
The agreement reached amid an unprecedented advance by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in Congo, is expected to bring significant U.S. public and private investment to the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum and gold, the final text said.
It raises hopes that the latest cycle of violence in a decades-long conflict rooted in the Rwandan genocide might ease. However, previous ceasefire calls have not produced a sustained break in the fighting.
Both parties also agreed to explore a joint security coordination mechanism to crack down on armed groups and criminal organizations.
The two countries’ foreign ministers signed the peace agreement at a ceremony with the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also signed as a witness.
“To our countrymen and women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in the east, we know you are watching this moment,” said Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner.
“You have every reason to expect more than promises,” she added.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said it opened the door to a definitive peace agreement.
“We are discussing how to build new regional economic value chains that link our countries, including with American private sector investment,” he said.
Building on the investment potential outlined in the agreement, Washington is in talks to invest billions of dollars in minerals in Congo, which has vast deposits of not only tantalum and gold but also copper, cobalt and lithium, used in mobile phones and electric cars.
Separately, Rwanda said this week it was also speaking to Washington about a possible minerals deal.
“A durable peace in the Great Lakes region will open the door for greater U.S. and broader Western investment, which will bring about economic opportunities and prosperity,” Rubio said at the ceremony.
“Our firms are good corporate citizens, American firms, and they’ll bring good governance and ensure responsible, reliable supply chains for things like critical minerals.”
The agreement is a “declaration of principles”, which a diplomatic source described as “very broad objectives to work towards”.
Both sides will finalise the specifics in a few months and then sign the agreement, the source said.
