Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo signed a US-brokered peace agreement at the White House on June 27, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.
00:03The agreement also includes an annex on the functioning of the joint security coordination
00:11mechanism and the full text of the concept of operations of the harmonized plan.
00:28These are not just words on paper, they must now be translated into action, justice, accountability
00:33and political will.
00:35This peace agreement is the starting point, not the end goal.
00:38It must now be followed by disengagement, justice and the return of displaced families
00:43and the return of refugees, both to the DRC and Rwanda.
00:48We must acknowledge that there is a great deal of uncertainty in our region and beyond because
00:56many previous agreements have not been implemented and there is no doubt that the road ahead
01:02will not be easy.
01:03But with the continued support of the United States and other partners, we believe that
01:09a turning point has been reached.
01:11Rwanda stands ready to work with the DRC to deliver on our joint commitments.
01:17We think sometimes about peace, it's not just about ending wars, it's about, and it's not
01:21just about saving lives, it's about allowing people to live.
01:25It's about allowing people to now have dreams and hopes for a better life, for prosperity,
01:29for economic opportunity, for a family reunification, for all the things that make life worth living.
01:34Those things become impossible when there's war and when there's conflict.
01:38So we're grateful to have played the role we've played.
01:40We acknowledge and recognize there's still more work to be done.
01:43But we thank you all very much for being a part of this historic and important day.
01:48This is really why I wanted this job, or why I embraced this job so much, is moments like
01:53this.
02:04In addition to this, which will become known as the Washington Accord, with regards to
02:10the Great Lakes region, there are some economic-
02:13Why not the Trump Accord?
02:15African Union, we just spoke about that, and I look forward to having them representatives
02:22here when we do the official meeting, and that'll be sometime in July.
02:27And there will be some bilateral agreements.
02:29We're negotiating a mineral steel with the DRC for critical minerals.
02:35Many American companies have shown interest in investing in the DRC, and we're talking about
02:40long-term investments.
02:42Same thing with Rwanda, many American companies have shown interest, and not only in mining,
02:48but also in the midstream and downstream, which will be the processing of minerals.
02:52We're also working and supporting the Lubito corridor.
02:56I think I can summarize my contribution in three main points.
03:01First of all, thank you and congratulations indeed for this remarkable milestone, which is putting
03:05an end to 30 years of conflict and of suffering, and which is redefining the perspectives that millions of Congolese and of citizens of the Greater Great Lakes region will have.
03:15The second point is stay committed, stay on board.
03:20We need the United States to make sure that this agreement holds, and that you hold us accountable.
03:25And the third point is, if you stay on board, I think there are so many perspectives that we can transform our partnerships through, and that can usher in an era of prosperity, of growth, and of shared bilateral relationships that go well beyond the challenges that we've shared together, and that can at least, or finally, focus on the potential and of the wealth that we can share.
