Washington, Dec 4 (EFE). – The presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, and Rwanda, Paul Kagame, signed a peace agreement on Thursday in Washington in presence of United States President Donald Trump, to end the conflict between the two countries.
”Today we’re succeeding while so many others have failed, and this has become the eighth war that we’ve ended in less than one year. Such an exciting thing to do because talking about 30 years of fighting and more than 10 million lives,” Trump said during the ceremony.
Trump explained that the agreement provides for a permanent ceasefire, the disarmament of non-state forces, the return of refugees, and accountability for those who have committed atrocities.
The pact also includes an economic component, as it grants the US preferential access to strategic minerals in the region.
”I think they spent a lot of time killing each other, and now they’re going to spend a lot of time hugging, holding hands, and taking advantage of the United States of America economically, as every other country does,” Trump said.
The presidents of both countries thanked the US leader for his participation in the agreement, but clarified that if “things don’t turn out as they should,” the responsibility will not fall on Trump.
“There will be ups and downs on the road ahead, there’s no doubt about it,” Kagame said.
“Rwanda will not be found wanting, I can assure you of that,” he added.
“They bring together, under a coherent architecture, a declaration of principles of a peace agreement and also the regional economic integration framework to provide to the peoples of the region a new perspective, a new outlook … in order to begin a new era of friendship, cooperation and prosperity,” Tshisekedi said.
The event was also attended by the presidents of Angola, Burundi, and Kenya, as well as representatives from Uganda and Togo, among other countries.
The signing ceremony took place at the headquarters of the United States Institute of Peace, an independent body created by Congress, which is now under the control of the State Department and has been renamed after Trump.
Since 1998, eastern DRC has been embroiled in a conflict fueled by rebel groups and the army, despite the deployment of the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO).
The crisis in eastern Congo worsened at the end of January when the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23), backed by Rwanda, according to the UN and several Western countries, took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and weeks later, Bukavu, the capital of neighboring South Kivu.
In June, the DRC and Rwanda ratified their peace agreement in Washington during a ceremony at the State Department attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of both countries.
However, violence continued in the region, and in November, representatives of the DRC and the rebel group signed a framework agreement in Doha, mediated by Qatar, with the aim of achieving a definitive peace. EFE
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