Kigali (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have agreed on a preliminary economic cooperation plan during their first discussions since signing a peace agreement, according to the United States late Friday.
A peace initiative struck in June intends to resolve decades of conflict in eastern Congo. The United States, looking to expand access to the region’s mineral resources, oversaw its development.
What are the key goals of this peace initiative?
The initiative, reported to be part of the peace deal, will improve transparency in supply chains for minerals such as coltan and lithium and will be operational by the end of September.
The State Department stated that the two nations have committed to a partnership on energy, infrastructure, mining, management of national parks, tourism, and public health, among others, but did not provide further details. The “economic integration framework” that was initialled on Friday is part of the peace accord that was agreed to, according to the US State Department.
How has M23 violence recently affected eastern DRC?
In what is an area of interest with significant natural resources and a border with Rwanda, the area of eastern DRC found itself noting an uptick in violence this year as the M23 armed group, with the backing of Rwandan troops, seized key cities of Goma and Bukavu.
Although Rwanda claims that it does not provide military support direct to the M23, it argued that it has long been compromised in terms of its security from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which consists of ethnic Hutus associated with the Tutsis slaughtered during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Kinshasa and M23 have agreed to negotiate a comprehensive peace deal by August 8 with the hope of signing a peace deal by August 17. After months of unsuccessful truces, the DRC and M23 agreed upon a declaration of principles on June 19 that reaffirmed their commitment to a sustainable ceasefire.
Two days prior, the Kinshasa government signed an agreement with the US company Kobold Metals, which focuses on exploring critical metals. In April, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi stated that he met with US envoy Massad Boulos to discuss mineral access.
How important are DRC’s minerals to the US?
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the world’s leading cobalt producer. It also has gold and other precious minerals deposits (coltan—a metallic ore used to make telephones and laptops—and lithium, which is needed for the electric vehicle batteries).
On Thursday and Friday, representatives of the DRC and Rwanda, along with observers from the United States, Qatar, and the African Union, convened in Washington for their first discussions since signing the peace agreement.
The US described the economic framework and Thursday’s meeting of the peace deal monitoring committee as a “significant step,” noting that the African neighbors are “taking meaningful actions to improve security and economic cooperation.”
The African Union and the United Nations have welcomed the peace deal, though analysts remain sceptical about its prospects for lasting peace while militias continue to dominate much of eastern DRC.
