Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement in Washington, D.C., marking a significant step in the countries’ decades-long conflict.
“This is an important moment after thirty years of war,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “President Trump is a president of peace. He really does want peace. He prioritizes it above all else…”
“We think sometimes about peace,” Rubio added. “It’s not just about ending wars, it’s not just about saving lives. 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 family reunification, for all the things that make life worth living.”
“In essence, the Department of State is really the Department of Peace,” Rubio noted. “It’s designed to bring people together, both in our relations with other countries, but to the extent we can use the stature and influence of the United States to bring others together, it makes the world a better place.”
Ahead of the agreement, President Donald Trump told reporters that the countries 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,” he said, referring to Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Boulos. “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,” Trump added.
According to the State Department, the agreement includes “provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities; disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups; establishment of a Joint Security Coordination Mechanism that incorporates the CONOPS of October 31, 2024; facilitation of the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as humanitarian access; and a regional economic integration framework.”
