President Donald Trump hosted Rwanda's Paul Kagame and DR Congo's Félix Tshisekedi in Washington on December 4, 2025, to ratify the Washington Accord, a landmark peace agreement ending decades of conflict in eastern Congo. The deal requires Rwanda to withdraw forces and Congo to neutralize Hutu militias like the FDLR, paving the way for US access to vast rare earth minerals critical for tech and defense industries. Trump hailed it as a ‘fantastic day for Africa and the world,’ announcing major American companies will extract resources, countering China's dominance while delivering economic peace dividends.
00:00We have come to the U.S. Institute of Peace to sign a historic agreement that will end one of the longest-running conflicts anywhere in the world, with far more than 10 million people killed.
00:13Today we commit to stopping decades of violence and bloodshed and to begin a new era of harmony and cooperation between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
00:24I want to thank the two courageous leaders. They are courageous leaders. They really are courageous leaders, great people.
00:32President Chisekite of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and President Kagame of Rwanda, they are amazing people and they had stories to tell me that were incredible.
00:51Really fascinating in so many different ways. Sad and beautiful. Both sad and beautiful. And today makes them beautiful.
01:00I've just held really fantastic meetings with both men and representatives of other countries, where we discuss the importance of upholding this new agreement.
01:13Very detailed, powerful agreement.
01:16Last June, thanks to the efforts of Secretary Rubio and Mr. Boulos, Rwanda and the DRC reached a landmark agreement to move toward peace.
01:29They started the process. I met with some of their great representatives who are here also.
01:34And we started a great process.
01:36The 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.
02:00Very importantly, this agreement also creates a new framework for economic prosperity.
02:06There's tremendous wealth in those and that beautiful earth is beautiful earth, but it was stained badly with blood, tremendous amounts of blood.
02:16But in the region that 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.
02:29And they'll be doing that.
02:30And these two gentlemen are very smart.
02:33And I think they liked each other a lot.
02:37I spent time with them.
02:38I think they liked the some people may be surprised.
02:41I really do.
02:42I think they spent a lot of time killing each other.
02:48And 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.
02:58So they're going to do very well.
03:01But they do have some valuable, some very valuable things.
03:04They're going to have a lot of money and a lot of success.
03:07And I think they're going to get along really well.
03:09So I hope so.
03:10Thank you very much.
03:12Look at them.
03:12Look at the way they love each other.
03:22So I have a lot of confidence in both leaders.
03:25We'll keep these commitments.
03:27I know they're going to keep them and follow through on the agreement and create a much brighter future for the people of their countries and their heroes within their countries because of today.
03:37A lot of this is a big story.
03:38And so much is being written and said.
03:43All of the newscasts have it at the top of the list and they are heroes and we want to keep it that way.
03:49Today the United States is also signing our own bilateral agreements with the Congo and Rwanda that will unlock new opportunities for the United States to access critical minerals and provide economic benefits for everybody.
04:04And we'll be involved with sending some of our biggest and we're going to take out some of the assets and pay and everybody's going to make a lot of money.
04:21These are just two of the many new agreements related to mineral supplies that my administration has achieved this year, including with Australia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, South Korea and many other countries.
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