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DR Congo and Rwanda agreed at a US-brokered ceremony in Washington to draft a peace deal by Friday, as part of diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in eastern Congo between Kinshasa and Kigali-backed rebels.
The foreign ministers of both African countries signed an agreement at the tense meeting, during which they did not shake hands, Al Jazeera reported.
The move came after Qatar brokered an unexpected truce between the two nations last week. The US has also played a key role, with Kinshasa offering Washington access to its minerals in exchange for help in ending the conflict: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the recent signing and the text of the agreement says both sides now expect significant investments facilitated by the US government and private sector.
On Monday the Financial Times reported that KoBold Metals, a mining startup backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, is expanding into DR Congo. Around 3,000 people have been killed since the longstanding conflict escalated in January, displacing around 7 million more.
