Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken a significant step towards implementing a peace deal agreed upon last month in Washington by holding the first meeting of a joint oversight committee.
The meeting, attended by representatives from the African Union, Qatar, and the United States, aimed to address implementation and dispute resolution of the peace agreement.
The peace deal, signed in June, marked a breakthrough in talks facilitated by the US administration to end fighting that has killed thousands and attracted billions of dollars of Western investment to the region.
Under the agreement, the two countries pledged to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days and form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days.
However, 30 days have passed without a meeting of the joint security coordination mechanism, and operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers have yet to begin.
Despite these delays, Trump’s senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, stated that the deal is not off track, adding that a meeting of the security mechanism is due to be announced in coming days.
