US pushes DRC, Rwanda for peace accord, sets mineral deals with Washington as key condition

The US is pushing the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to sign a peace accord at the White House in about two months, accompanied by bilateral mineral deals, President Donald Trump's senior advisor for Africa told Reuters news agency on Thursday.

"When we sign the peace agreement ... the minerals deal with the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) will be signed on that day, and then a similar package, but of a different size, will be signed on that day with Rwanda," Massad Boulos said in an interview in the Qatari capital, Doha.

A US-backed peace accord would come amid an unprecedented advance by M23 rebels in DRC, the latest cycle of violence in a decades-long conflict, in a region rich in minerals including tantalum and gold. The DRC accuses Rwanda of backing the rebels, a claim Kigali denies.

Rwanda and Congo are expected to submit separate drafts of a peace agreement on Friday, according to a peace process agreed in Washington last week as part of diplomatic efforts to end violence in eastern Congo.

Mineral deal with DRC bigger

The Congolese government did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

In mid-May US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet in Washington with the Rwandan and Congolese foreign ministers in an effort to agree on a final draft peace accord, Boulos said.

But before that accord can be signed, Boulos said, Rwanda and Congo must finalise bilateral economic agreements with Washington that will see US and Western companies invest billions of dollars in Congolese mines and infrastructure projects in both countries, including the processing of minerals in Rwanda.

"The (agreement) with the DRC is at a much bigger scale, because it's a much bigger country and it has much more resources, but Rwanda also has a lot of resources and capacities and potential in the area of mining as well ... not just the upstream, but also midstream and downstream to processing and refining and trading," Boulos said.

Monitoring progress

Boulos said US and Western companies have told Washington they would make multi-billon dollar investments in the region once the bilateral minerals deals are signed.

He added that before the White House signing ceremony can go ahead, Washington expects both countries to address a number of security concerns.

For example, Rwanda must pull its troops out of the Congo and end its support for M23 rebels, and DRC must address Rwanda's security concerns with militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), he said.

Boulos added that on Wednesday a follow-up committee was appointed to monitor both countries' progress towards the peace deal, which includes the US, Qatar, France and Togo, which is representing the African Union.