A historic breakthrough unfolded in Washington as President Donald Trump hosted leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the signing of the “Washington Accords.” The agreement aims to end a conflict that has lasted more than three decades, establishing a permanent ceasefire, the disarmament of non-state groups, justice measures for past atrocities, and the return of displaced refugees.
During the ceremony, Trump also announced new bilateral deals that will allow the United States to purchase rare earth minerals from both nations — a move positioned as strengthening U.S. access to critical resources while supporting economic development in Central Africa.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi both praised the diplomatic effort, calling the agreement a long-awaited turning point toward lasting peace.
00:00The compact we're signing today, which will be known as the Washington Accords, everybody sort of liked that name, formalizes the terms agreed to in June, including a permanent ceasefire, the disarmament of non-state forces, provisions for refugees to return to their homes, and justice and accountability for those who have committed illegal atrocities.
00:24Very importantly, this agreement also creates a new framework for economic prosperity. There's tremendous wealth in those, in that beautiful earth. It's a beautiful earth, but it was stained badly with blood, tremendous amounts of blood.
00:39But in the region, it will support a lasting peace, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have agreed to more closely integrate their economies with each other rather than fighting, and they'll be doing that.
00:53And these two gentlemen are very smart, and I think they liked each other a lot. I spent time with them. I think they liked each other. Some people may be surprised. I really do.
01:05I think 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.
01:22So they're going to do very well, but they do have some valuable, some very valuable things. They're going to have a lot of money and a lot of success, and I think they're going to get along really well. So I hope so. Thank you very much.
01:35Look at them. Look at them. Look at the way they love each other.
01:39For more than 30 years, one of the worst conflicts on earth has been raging in eastern Congo. Millions and millions of people have been tragically killed.
01:50It went on forever, and countless more have been displaced from their homes. Families have been destroyed. It's been a disaster. Many administrations have tried, but probably not too hard, knowing who preceded me.
02:05But they tried. It says they've tried. But we tried harder to end this conflict. But they've accomplished. Obviously, they accomplished very little, because the killing went on at levels. It just got worse and worse.
02:19And today we're succeeding, where so many others have failed. And this has become the eighth war that we've ended in less than one year. Such an exciting thing to do. This has been a really, because we're talking about 30 years of fighting. 30 years, much more than 10 million lives.
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