Dr. Congo-Rwanda Peace Deal: How Trump wants to cash in American companies

The Trump government led an ambitious but controversial peace initiative aimed at ending the long -term conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that is also attracted to neighboring Rwanda.

The mediation efforts are no surprise, such as Dr. Congo – a nation in the heart of Africa – is endowed with the mineral wealth that the US needs to feed the IT, and now AI, revolutions, many of which are currently going to China.

US President Donald Trump is expected to be the leaders of Dr. Congo and Rwanda – Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame – in the coming weeks to seal a peace agreement that he has greeted as a “glorious triumph”, hoping to support the American investments in the region in the region.

US-Founded World Peace Foundation Executive Director Prof. Alex de Waal told the BBC that the Trump government “Making a new model of peace, combining a populist version with Commercial Deal”.

“Trump has also done this in Ukraine. He wants to get the glory to stimulate his own political status, and to secure minerals in the interests of America,” said Prof De Waal.

However, he noted that “in Dr. Congo China has already broken up many of the minerals, so that the US catches up”.

He said that so far American companies had been careful to invest in Dr. Congo due to safety problems and the “moral danger” of trade in so -called “blood minerals” – mineral financing uprising – but this could change if the Trump administration implemented its peace model.

Prof De Waal said that this could also happen in other states with conflicts such as Sudan, where the Trump government – together with Arab countries such as Saudi Aarabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – is expected to be involved in mediation efforts after previous initiatives failed.

He added that the peace model of the Trump government could not be dismissed, especially if it stops fighting that killed thousands of people and has displaced millions of others in conflicts that have been in the east of Dr. for more than 30 years. Congo are rage.

“Trump can let the different parties talk and shake things,” said Prof De Waal.

But Prof. Hanri Mostert, an academician about mineral legislation at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, told the BBC that Dr. Congo “endangered the sovereignty of its minerals”.

Dr. Congo could be stuck to deals for years, in exchange for vague safety guarantees, she said.

This was reminiscent of the “Resource -Bartering” offers that China and Russia have pursued in countless African states, Profile Mostert added.

She quoted Angola as an example, where China built infrastructure in exchange for oil.

“Even when the oil prices went up, Angola could no longer get value,” said Prof Mostert.

The US Department of Foreign Affairs said that in 2023 Dr. Congo had an estimated $ 25trn (£ 21.2trn) in mineral reserves.

This included cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese and tantalum – needed to make the electronic components used in computers, electrical vehicles, mobile phones, wind turbines and military hardware.

“How long does Dr. Congo have to give his cobalt to American investors? Will it take 20 years or 50 years? What is the price for peace?” Prof Mostert early.

The spokesperson for the government of Dr. Congo, Patrick Muyaya, confirmed the BBC newsday program in March that his country wanted to provide the US with “some critical minerals” in exchange for a security deal.

The M23 rebel group launched a large offensive at the beginning of this year, in which huge areas of Oost -dr. Congo grab and smuggle minerals across the border to Rwanda, UN experts said in a report earlier this month.

The minerals were then mixed with the Rwandan production and “their subsequent exports to electricity actors reached unprecedented levels,” the UN experts added.

Rwanda denies accusations that it supports the M23, although the UN has provided proof, it has thousands of soldiers in Dr. Congo.

In what an attempt seems to be to tackle the issue of mineral smuggling, the Peace Agreement concluded by the US provides between Dr. Congo and Rwanda in a “regional economic integration framework” between the two rival states.

This would “ensure that illegal economic paths are blocked” and “mutually affordable partnerships and investment options” created for “larger prosperity – especially for the population of the region”.

“For the United States, we get many of the mineral rights of Congo as part of it,” said Trump, prior to the Peace Deal signed by representatives of the two governments on 27 June in Washington.

A DR Congo researcher at the Institute for Security Studies Think-Tank, Bram Verelst, told the BBC in South Africa, told the BBC that the US Initiative in combination with another was led by Qatar, a close American ally.

Mr Verelst said that the Focus of the US was mainly on the regional dimension, while Qatar that was of domestic issues between Dr.’s government. Congo and the M23 rebel group that set up its own administration in the east after catching the regional capital Goma.

Prof Jason Stearns, a political scientist -based political scientist who specializes in the region, told the BBC that Qatar, like other oil -rich Gulf states, expanded to Africa “to project power, but also to seek economic opportunities”.

He added that it became involved in mediation efforts at the request of Rwanda, who the US as in favor of Dr. Congo considered something that Washington denies.

Prof Stearns said that Qatar had “massive” economic interests in Rwanda, pointing out that the Gulf State built a new airport for multi-billion dollar in Kigali and was in conversation to gain a 49% interest in the national airline.

He explained that the US and Qatar worked closely together, but it was less than ideal to have two processes, because “you don’t want to end up in a situation where there is a peace agreement between Dr. Congo and Rwanda, but Rwanda says:” We don’t check the M23 “, and the M23 contains escalating escalates [the conflict] In the east of Dr. Congo “.

“It is therefore very important that the two processes are tightly connected to each other, because the actors are so closely connected,” said Prof Stearns.

Dr. Congo and Rwanda with it to launch a “security coordination mechanism” within 30 days after the deal of 27 June.

Mr. Verelst said that a ceasefire -the Fires are expected to come into force on Tuesday, followed by the government of Dr. Congo and the M23 that signed an extensive peace agreement by 18 August, building on the “Principles Declaration” that they had already negotiated.

Dr. Congo-based International Crisis Group (ICG) Think tank analyst Onephore Sematumba said that the US and Qatar received deals in “Record Time” since the rise of Trump to the US presidency in January.

Mr Sematumba said that their intervention came after several mediation efforts guided by Africa “since 2022 have failed” to allow the parties to even sign one document “.

“Regional players do not have the same leverage to influence Kigali and Kinshasa,” he added.

“But between signing an agreement and reaching peace, the road can be long, and in this case it will take a long time,” warned Mr Sematumba.

An important question is whether the M23 will give up the territory under its control, as required by the government of Tshisekedi.

Mr Sematumba said that the M23 had agreed to ‘state institution’ that in Dr. Congo was established, but the rebels also said that they would not give up ‘a few centimeters’ land.

“Personally, I think the transition gradually, and for certain areas there must be a kind of co-management. But everything will depend on the tact of the mediators and their ability to break the ice,” added Mr Sematumba.

He said that the success of the peace initiative also depended on what the agreement called the “lifting of defensive measures” by Rwanda, interpreted on a large scale as the withdrawal of his troops from East -dr. Congo.

Although Rwanda denies that it supports the M23, it says it wants to wipe out the FDLR, a militia born from those who performed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and then in Dr. Congo have fled. Rwanda has accused the Congolese army of working with the FDLR.

The peace agreement is described that the FDLR must be “neutralized”, but this has been tried several times in the last three decades.

“For Rwanda, the neutralization of the FDLR is a condition for the withdrawal of its powers, while Dr. Congo says that the two should be reached at the same time,” noted Mr Sematumba and said brokers should find a solution because these issues had led to the failure of previous peace initiatives.

“Just by following the different interpretations given by the parties to the signed texts, you can feel all the difficulties that await us,” said Mr. Sematumba.

Prof Mostert agreed that diplomacy could not reach peace in itself, and a broader initiative was needed.

“You build up peace by transforming pain. That takes more than diplomacy. It requires dialogue, decentralized participation and the experiences of people worthy,” she said.

“That is why I think it is important that the dealmakers and the legislators remain aware of historical traumas, including decades of exploiting resources,” added Mostert.

So if he wants the peace to hold on long enough for American companies to take advantage, Donald Trump may have to keep the pressure for a while.