US President Donald Trump praised the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda for their courage as they signed a deal on Thursday aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo and opening the region’s critical mineral reserves to the US government and American companies.
The moment offered Trump – who has repeatedly and with a measure of exaggeration boasted of brokering peace in some of the world’s most entrenched conflicts – another chance to tout himself as a dealmaker extraordinaire on the global stage and make the case that he is deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. The US leader has not been shy about his desire to receive the honour.
“It’s a great day for Africa, a great day for the world,” Trump said before the leaders signed the pact. “Today, we’re succeeding where so many others have failed.”
Trump welcomed presidents Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, as well as several officials from other African nations who travelled to Washington to witness the signing, in the same week he contemptuously derided the war-torn country of Somalia and said he did not want immigrants from the East African nation in the US.
Lauded by the White House as a “historic” agreement brokered by Trump, the pact between Tshisekedi and Kagame followed months-long peace efforts by the US and partners, including the African Union and Qatar, and finalises an earlier deal signed in June.