{"id":55894,"date":"2025-10-09T10:30:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T10:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/president-kagame-u-s-envoy-boulos-discuss-great-lakes-peace-efforts\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T19:13:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T19:13:08","slug":"president-kagame-u-s-envoy-boulos-discuss-great-lakes-peace-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/president-kagame-u-s-envoy-boulos-discuss-great-lakes-peace-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"President Kagame, U.S. envoy Boulos discuss Great Lakes peace efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to a post on X by the Presidency on Thursday, the discussions highlighted \u201congoing efforts to advance peace in the Great Lakes region, and Rwanda\u2019s continuous commitment to lasting peace and security.\u201d<\/p>\n

The meeting comes at a critical moment in the U.S.-mediated peace process between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The two countries signed the Washington Accord on June 27, 2025. The agreement was designed to dismantle the FDLR militia, composed of remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and to lift Rwanda\u2019s defensive posture along the border.<\/p>\n

However, implementation of the peace deal has faced challenges. Tensions deepened last week when the DRC declined, at the last minute, to sign the Regional Economic Integration Framework (REIF). The framework was expected to bolster economic cooperation between Kigali and Kinshasa and strengthen regional integration efforts. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rwandan delegation in Washington, D.C. this week was ready to sign the Regional Economic Integration Framework (REIF), which benefits both our countries and the region,\u201d Government Spokesperson Yolande Makolo wrote on X on October 4. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are puzzled by the DRC\u2019s last-minute decision not to sign the agreement, given the positive atmosphere of the negotiations \u2026 and the diligent mediation work of Senior Advisor Massad Boulos and the State Department.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the setback, Rwanda has reiterated its commitment to both the peace agreement and the broader U.S.-facilitated mediation efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cRwanda believes in the peace agreement and in the approach of the U.S. mediation, and hopes that the REIF will eventually be signed,\u201d Makolo added. \u201cThe peace process must succeed. It is the best chance for stability and economic development for our region.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Kagame\u2019s meeting with Boulos on Thursday signals continued U.S. engagement in the Great Lakes, even as the region navigates setbacks in both security and economic cooperation tracks.<\/p>\n

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

President Paul Kagame has met with Massad Boulos, the U.S. Senior Advisor for Africa, for talks centred on advancing peace and security in the Great Lakes region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000095832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","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":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","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":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000095832,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g2zfwyvwqaaghdflogo.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g2zfwyvwqaaghdflogo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g2zfwyvwqaaghdflogo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g2zfwyvwqaaghdflogo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g2zfwyvwqaaghdflogo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g2zfwyvwqaaghdflogo.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55894","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\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000095832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55894"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55894"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}