Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have reached a draft agreement that mark a turning point in decades of violence and mistrust between the two neighbours.
The proposed deal, brokered with the help of the United States and Qatar, lays out plans for the disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of the armed groups operating in eastern DR Congo—one of Africa’s most unstable and mineral-rich regions.
Among those groups is the M23, a rebel faction that has seized swathes of territory this year. While DR Congo has long accused Rwanda of backing the group, they continue to deny any involvement, insisting its troops are in the region only to guard against threats from other militias, including the FDLR—a group made up largely of ethnic Hutus linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The draft agreement also includes provisions for a joint security mechanism designed to prevent future flare-ups, a critical step given the region’s volatile history. If formally signed as expected next week, the deal could unlock billions of dollars in western investment into eastern Congo, an area rich in cobalt, gold and other vital minerals, but plagued by instability for more than three decades.
Although the deal’s general outline is now available to the public, many details are still unknown. Important doubts remain about the guarantees in place to maintain lasting peace and how precisely the absorption of armed groups will be handled.
Still, officials say the mood in recent talks has been encouraging. The US State Department, in a statement on Wednesday, confirmed that technical teams from both countries had initialled the draft agreement after three days of what it described as “constructive dialogue regarding political, security, and economic interests” in Washington.
A formal signing ceremony is scheduled for next Friday, and will be witnessed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
It remains to be seen if this deal can prevail where others have failed. However, for the time being, it marks a rare moment of agreement in a conflict that has taken many lives and limited the region’s potential for far too long.