Trump praises Congo and Rwanda as they sign U.S.-mediated peace deal

WASHINGTON — President Trump praised the leaders of Congo and Rwanda for their courage as they signed an agreement on Thursday aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo and opening the region’s critical mineral reserves to the U.S. government and American companies.

The moment offered Trump — who has repeatedly and with a measure of exaggeration boasted of brokering peace in some of the world’s most entrenched conflicts — another chance to tout himself as a dealmaker extraordinaire on the global stage and make the case that he’s deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. The U.S. leader hasn’t been shy about his desire to receive the honor.

“It’s a great day for Africa, a great day for the world,” Trump said shortly before the leaders signed the pact. He added, “Today, we’re succeeding where so many others have failed.”

Trump welcomed Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, as well as several officials from other African nations who traveled to Washington to witness the signing, in the same week he contemptuously derided the war-torn country of Somalia and said he did not want immigrants from the East African nation in the U.S.

Lauded by the White House as a “historic” agreement brokered by Trump, the pact between Tshisekedi and Kagame follows months-long peace efforts by the U.S. and partners, including the African Union and Qatar, and finalizes a deal signed in June.

But the Trump-brokered peace is precarious.

The Central African nation of Congo has been battered by decades-long fighting with more than 100 armed groups, the most potent being the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. The conflict escalated this year, with M23 seizing the region’s main cities of Goma and Bukavu in an unprecedented advance, worsening a humanitarian crisis that was already one of the world’s largest, with millions of people displaced.

‘We are still at war’

Fighting, meanwhile, continued this week in the conflict-battered region with pockets of clashes reported between the rebels and Congolese soldiers, together with their allied forces. Trump, a Republican, has often said that his mediation has ended the conflict, which some people in Congo say isn’t true.

Still, Kagame and Tshisekedi offered a hopeful tone as they signed the agreement.

“No one was asking President Trump to take up this task. Our region is far from the headlines,” Kagame said. “But when the president saw the opportunity to contribute to peace, he immediately took it.”

“I do believe this day is the beginning of a new path, a demanding path, yes. Indeed, quite difficult,” Tshisekedi said. “But this is a path where peace will not just be a wish, an aspiration but a turning point.”

Analysts say Thursday’s deal also isn’t expected to quickly result in peace. A separate peace deal has been signed between Congo and the M23.

“We are still at war,” said Amani Chibalonza Edith, a 32-year-old resident of Goma. “There can be no peace as long as the front lines remain active.”

But Trump predicted with the signing the countries would leave behind “decades of violence and bloodshed” and “begin a new year of harmony and cooperation.”

“They spent a lot of time killing each other,” Trump said. “And now they’re going to spend a lot of time hugging, holding hands and taking advantage of the United States of America economically like every other country does.”

Tshisekedi and Kagame did not shake hands and barely looked at each other during the roughly 50-minute signing ceremony.

Rare earth minerals

Thursday’s pact will also build on a previously agreed-upon regional economic integration framework that officials have said will define the terms of economic partnerships involving the three countries.

Trump also announced the United States was signing bilateral agreements with Congo and Rwanda that will unlock opportunities for the United States to access critical minerals — deals that will benefit all three nations’ economies.

“And we’ll be involved with sending some of our biggest and greatest U.S. companies over to the two countries,” Trump said. “Everybody’s going to make a lot of money.”

The region, rich in critical minerals, has been of interest to Trump as Washington looks for ways to circumvent China to acquire rare earths, essential to manufacturing fighter jets, cellphones and more. China accounts for nearly 70% of the world’s rare earth mining and controls about 90% of global rare earths processing.

Trump hosted the leaders Thursday morning for one-on-one meetings at the White House as well as a three-way conversation before the signing ceremony at the Institute of Peace in Washington, which the State Department announced on Wednesday has been rebranded “the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.”

Later Thursday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event that will bring together American business leaders and the Congolese and Rwandan delegations to discuss potential investment opportunities in critical minerals, energy and tourism.

Ongoing clashes

In eastern Congo, meanwhile, residents reported pockets of clashes and rebel advances in various localities. The M23 and Congolese forces have accused each other of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreed earlier this year. Fighting has also continued in the central plateaus across South Kivu province.

The hardship in the aftermath of the conflict has worsened after U.S. funding cuts that were crucial for aid support in the conflict.

In rebel-held Goma, which was a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts before this year’s escalation of fighting, the international airport is closed. Government services such as bank operations have yet to resume, and residents have reported a surge in crimes and in the prices of goods.

“We are waiting to see what will happen because so far, both sides continue to clash and attack each other,” said Moise Bauma, a 27-year-old student in Bukavu.

Congo and Rwanda, meanwhile, have touted American involvement as a key step toward peace in the region.

“We need that attention from the administration to continue to get to where we need to get to,” Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said. “We are under no illusion that this is going to be easy. This is not the end, but it’s a good step.”

Conflict’s cause

The conflict can be traced to the aftermath of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, where Hutu militias killed 500,000 to 1 million ethnic Tutsi, as well as moderate Hutus and Twa people. When Tutsi-led forces fought back, nearly 2 million Hutus crossed into Congo, fearing reprisals.

Rwandan authorities have accused the Hutus who fled of participating in the genocide and alleged that elements of the Congolese army protected them. They have contended that the militias formed by a small fraction of the Hutus are a threat to Rwanda’s Tutsi population.

Congo’s government has said there can’t be permanent peace if Rwanda doesn’t withdraw its support troops and other support for the M23 in the region. Rwanda, on the other hand, has conditioned a permanent ceasefire on Congo dissolving a local militia that it said is made up of the Hutus and is fighting with the Congolese military.

U.N. experts have said that 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan government forces are deployed in eastern Congo, operating alongside the M23. Rwanda denies such support but says any action taken in the conflict is to protect its territory.

Madhani, Asadu and Alonga write for the Associated Press. Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria, and Madhani from Washington. AP writer Justin Kabumba in Goma contributed to this report.