WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump gathered the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to sign a peace deal in Washington on Thursday even as fighting continued in their war-scarred region. Rwa­ndan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Repu­blic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi affirmed their commitment to an economic integration compact already agreed to last month, as well as a US-brokered peace deal reached in June that has yet to be implemented.

Their countries are also signing agreements on critical minerals, security and economic partnerships, according to a White House official.

The signing handed Trump the latest in a series of made-for-television diplomatic victories, in this case one at odds with the bloody situation on the ground. Washington is keen to secure better access to a spectrum of natural resources in DR Congo and has been scrambling globally to counter Chinese dominance in critical minerals.

“We’re settling a war that’s been going on for decades,” Trump said. “They spent a lot of time killing each other 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.”

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2025