The Presidents of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda will travel to Washington next week to sign a peace deal and meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.
This comes as the U.S. tries to broker peace in war-hit eastern Congo and attract Western mining investments to the region.
Two diplomatic sources and Tina Salama, spokesperson for Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, said “the meeting would take place on December 4.”
A spokesperson for Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
A White House official said that “the Trump administration continues to work with both parties, and looks forward to welcoming them to the White House at the appropriate time.”
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group staged a lightning advance in eastern Congo this year, seizing the region’s two largest cities and raising fears of a wider war that could draw in more of Congo’s neighbours. The latest cycle of fighting has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
The meeting next week is expected to build on a U.S.-brokered peace deal reached in June and signed by the two countries’ foreign ministers, and a Regional Economic Integration Framework agreed earlier this month.
The heads of state are expected to ratify both, Salama said; “The president has always desired regional integration, but respect for sovereignty is non-negotiable and a prerequisite for regional integration.”
The Trump administration has talked of facilitating billions of dollars of Western investment in a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium, and other minerals.
Reuters/Shakirat Sadiq