Trump Hosts Congo and Rwanda Leaders in New Push for Peace and Mining Deals

US President Donald Trump welcomed the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to Washington on Thursday in a renewed effort to calm eastern Congo’s conflict and secure major Western investment in the region’s mineral-rich economy.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi are expected to reaffirm commitments to an economic integration pact reached last month and a US-brokered peace agreement signed in June but still not implemented.

The summit comes amid ongoing clashes in eastern Congo, where the M23 rebel group, allegedly backed by Rwanda, captured two major cities earlier this year. Analysts say US diplomacy has slowed the violence but failed to address underlying tensions.

Congo and M23 traded accusations of ceasefire violations this week. Congo’s government blamed the rebels for renewed fighting, saying it proved «Rwanda doesn’t want peace.» M23 was not invited to the Washington meeting and is not bound by any Congo-Rwanda deal.

Despite the instability, Washington is pushing for billions of dollars in Western investment in a region rich in cobalt, copper, lithium, gold, and other minerals vital to global supply chains. The push comes as the US seeks to reduce reliance on resources dominated by China.

Thursday’s agreement is expected to be signed at the US Institute of Peace, a symbolically charged venue after Trump moved to reshape the organisation earlier this year.

Under the terms of the June framework, Congo must dismantle the anti-Rwanda FDLR militia, while Rwanda must withdraw its troops from Congolese territory—conditions that have seen little progress.

«We hope that, after the signing, we will see improvement on the ground,» Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told Reuters.

The conflict in eastern Congo has roots stretching back three decades, with repeated wars killing millions and displacing hundreds of thousands. Whether the Washington summit changes that trajectory remains uncertain.

Kursiv Uzbekistan also reports that Russia has issued a sharp warning to the European Union after Brussels proposed using frozen Russian state assets to finance Ukraine’s war effort.