By Andrew Mills
DOHA (Reuters) -The U.S. is pushing Congo and Rwanda to sign a peace accord at the White House in about two months, accompanied by bilateral mineral deals that would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, President Donald Trump’s senior advisor for Africa told Reuters 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 U.S.-backed peace accord would come amid an unprecedented advance by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in Congo, the latest cycle of violence in a decades-long conflict, in a region rich in minerals including tantalum and gold. Rwanda denies backing the group.
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.
The Congolese government did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
In mid-May U.S. 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 U.S. and Western companies invest billions of dollars in Congolese mines and infrastructure projects to support mining in both countries including the processing of minerals in Rwanda.
“The (agreement) with the D.R.C. 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.
Boulos said U.S. and Western companies have told Washington they would make multi-billon dollar investments in the region once the bilateral minerals deals are signed.
Boulos also said 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 Congo and end its support for M23 rebels. Congo must address Rwanda’s security concerns with militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
Boulos said that on Wednesday a follow-up committee was appointed to monitor both countries’ progress towards the peace deal, which includes the U.S., Qatar, France and Togo, which is representing the African Union.
(Reporting by Andrew MillsEditing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Peter Graff and Sandra Maler)
