A United States–mediated peace accord was signed in Washington on Friday, June 27, 2025, by Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, rekindling hopes of ending a conflict that has cost thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people this year.
The breakthrough, reached under former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, is designed to unlock billions of dollars in Western investment for a region endowed with tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium, and other critical minerals. During a ceremony attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the foreign ministers of both nations endorsed the agreement, which commits Rwanda to withdraw its troops from eastern Congo within 90 days and to launch a regional economic‑integration framework in the same period.
“They were going at it for many years, and with machetes – it is one of the worst, one of the worst wars that anyone has ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled,” Trump remarked shortly before the signing. He added, “We’re getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it. They’re so honored to be here. They never thought they’d be coming.”
Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe hailed the accord as a turning point, while his Congolese counterpart, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, stressed that the deal must be followed by disengagement on the ground. Later, in the Oval Office, Trump presented letters inviting Presidents Félix Tshisekedi of Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda to Washington to sign a wider package of agreements that senior Africa adviser Massad Boulos has dubbed the “Washington Accord”.
Nduhungirehe urged Trump to remain engaged, noting that previous agreements had faltered, prompting Trump to warn of “very severe penalties, financial and otherwise” if the new accord is breached.
Analysts and diplomats estimate Rwanda has deployed at least 7,000 soldiers in support of the M23 rebels, who this year captured major eastern Congolese cities and lucrative mining zones. The rebels’ advance – the most recent chapter in a conflict rooted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide – raised fears of a broader regional war.
Boulos told Reuters in May that Washington wanted the peace deal and accompanying minerals agreements concluded together during the summer. Rubio confirmed that heads of state are expected to be “here in Washington in a few weeks to finalize the complete protocol and agreement.” Nevertheless, Friday’s document gives Kigali and Kinshasa three months to establish a framework “to expand foreign trade and investment derived from regional critical mineral supply chains”.
A separate signing ceremony at the White House will finalize that framework once progress is achieved in Doha‑based talks involving the Congolese government and M23 representatives. The accord voiced “full support” for the Qatar‑hosted mediation.
Within 30 days, the parties must also create a joint security‑coordination mechanism and implement last year’s plan to verify the Rwandan withdrawal. Concurrently, Congolese operations against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – a militia containing elements responsible for the 1994 genocide – are to conclude.
“This is the best chance we have at a peace process for the moment despite all the challenges and flaws,” said Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University who specialises in Africa’s Great Lakes region. Still, he cautioned that “it will be up to the U.S., as they are the godfather of this deal, to make sure both sides abide by the terms.”
The agreement further commits both countries to de‑risk mining supply chains and develop value‑added industries “that link both countries, in partnership, as appropriate, with the U.S. and U.S. investors.” According to Tresor Kibangula of Congo’s Ebuteli research institute, these provisions send “a strategic message: securing the east also means securing investments,” though, he conceded, “It remains to be seen whether this economic logic will suffice” to stop the fighting.
