{"id":54775,"date":"2025-07-05T23:08:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T23:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/we-are-cautiously-optimistic-minister-nduhungirehe-on-peace-deal-signed-with\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T11:32:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T11:32:29","slug":"we-are-cautiously-optimistic-minister-nduhungirehe-on-peace-deal-signed-with","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/we-are-cautiously-optimistic-minister-nduhungirehe-on-peace-deal-signed-with\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We are cautiously optimistic\u2019 – Minister Nduhungirehe on peace deal signed with DRC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking at the Rwanda Convention 2025 in Texas, USA, running from July 4 to 6, he highlighted the significance of the deal, which aims to address longstanding tensions in the Great Lakes region. <\/p>\n

The convention, resuming after a six-year hiatus, brought together hundreds of Rwandans from the diaspora and guests from Rwanda to celebrate culture, unity, and national development.<\/p>\n

The peace agreement, brokered in Washington with U.S. support, is comprehensive, covering political, security, economic, and humanitarian aspects. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are optimistic because those three aspects are taken care of.
\nHowever, we are cautiously optimistic because we have an experience with the DRC of signing agreements without implementing them,\u201d he noted. <\/p>\n

Minister Nduhungirehe emphasized that Rwanda\u2019s security concerns, particularly the threat posed by the FDLR, a genocidal force, are central to the agreement. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have decided together to ensure that this movement, this FDLR, is neutralized once and for all, which will allow Rwanda to lift its defensive measures,\u201d he stated. <\/p>\n

On the economic front, the agreement fosters joint investments between Rwanda and the DRC, supported by U.S. companies. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis kind of positive collaboration would be a good incentive for permanent peace and prosperity in our region,\u201d Nduhungirehe noted.<\/p>\n

Politically, the agreement supports dialogue between the DRC government and the M23 movement, addressing root causes of conflict such as the persecution and marginalization of Congolese Tutsi communities. <\/p>\n

Ongoing talks in Doha, Qatar, mediated by Qatar, mark progress, as the DRC has now agreed to engage with M23, a commitment absent in prior failed agreements.<\/p>\n

However, Nduhungirehe tempered optimism with caution, citing the DRC\u2019s history of signing but not implementing agreements. <\/p>\n

Since the 1999 Lusaka ceasefire, at least 10 agreements, including the 2009 Goma accord that gave M23 its name, have gone unimplemented. <\/p>\n

He also raised concerns about DRC\u2019s militarization, including new weapons, attack drones, armored vehicles, and mercenaries, such as Colombian operatives hired by Blackwater during Washington negotiations. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that the DRC has not implemented previous agreements\u2026 Rwanda will do its part of the deal, and we hope that the DRC will also follow through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Addressing differences from past efforts, Nduhungirehe noted that the current agreement builds on the Luanda Process, mediated by Angola\u2019s President Joao Louren\u00e7o in 2024, which collapsed due to the DRC\u2019s refusal to negotiate with M23. <\/p>\n

The inclusion of economic cooperation and U.S. support distinguishes this deal. He also responded to critics of the Trump administration, which facilitated the agreement, saying, \u201cSo what? Having interests in the region is not a problem, provided they are interested in helping Rwanda and DRC achieve peace and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda\u2019s Foreign Minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, has expressed cautious optimism about the peace agreement signed between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on June 27, 2025, while emphasizing that Rwanda remains committed to fulfilling its part of the deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2000090401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-54775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000090401,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ol3-2-705f9.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ol3-2-705f9.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ol3-2-705f9.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ol3-2-705f9.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ol3-2-705f9.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/ol3-2-705f9.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000090401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54775"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=54775"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=54775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}