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Trump, Kagame and Tshisekedi Sign Washington Accords Linking Peace Effort to Minerals Access

Heavy clashes persisted in eastern Congo — M23 was not part of the pact, leaving its impact uncertain.

FILE - M23 rebels enter the centre of east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, and take control of the South Kivu province administrative office, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga, File)
President Kagame, President Trump and President Tshisekedi at Thursday’s signing ceremony for the Washington Accords
US President Donald Trump hosts the signing ceremony of a peace deal with the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame (L) and the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi (R)
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a picture of himself with Rwanda's Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, during a meeting with Foreign Minister Nduhungirehe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo

Overview

  • The leaders signed the U.S.-brokered agreements in Washington, formalizing a peace accord, a regional economic integration framework, and a strategic-minerals partnership.
  • The package includes bilateral pacts to facilitate U.S. investment in Congo’s critical minerals such as cobalt and copper as Washington seeks alternatives to China.
  • Fighting continued across South Kivu and elsewhere with reports of civilian casualties, and M23, which seized Goma and Bukavu earlier this year, did not attend and is not bound.
  • Core conditions remain contested: Rwanda is expected to withdraw forces from eastern Congo and Kinshasa is pressed to act against the FDLR, with little verified progress to date.
  • UN experts and Western governments have accused Rwanda of backing M23 — a charge Kigali denies — and analysts warn the signing may not quickly change the humanitarian crisis.