Rwanda, DR Congo sign U.S.-brokered peace deal to end fighting, attract investment

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement on Friday, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.

The agreement marks a breakthrough in talks held by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and aims to attract billions of dollars in Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.

At a ceremony with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, the two African countries' foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern DRC within 90 days, according to a copy seen by Reuters.

Kinshasa and Kigali will also launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the agreement a turning point. DRC Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said it must be followed by disengagement.

Trump later met both officials in the Oval Office, where he presented them with letters inviting DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame to Washington to sign a package of agreements that Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, dubbed the "Washington Accord."

Nduhungirehe told Trump that past deals had not been implemented and urged him to stay engaged.

Trump warned of "very severe penalties, financial and otherwise" if the agreement is violated.

(With input from Reuters)