DR Congo-Rwanda Cooperation: How Brewing Tensions Threatened Economic Pacts

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DR Congo-Rwanda Cooperation: How Brewing Tensions Threatened Economic Pacts

19 juil. 2022 15:54

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) top defence body ordered the government to suspend all treaties with East African neighbour Rwanda amid simmering tensions over its alleged support for M23 rebels. After a meeting of the Supreme Council of Defence chaired by President Felix Tshisekedi, government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said the government was urged to «suspend all memoranda of understanding, agreements and conventions concluded with Rwanda,» citing the Kigali’s backing of the rebels fighting government forces in the eastern DRC.The two countries signed three bilateral agreements in a meeting last year between Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province in the northeastern DRC. Investment and taxation were in the focus of the accords, as was the establishment of a Congolese gold refinery in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. Spokesman Muyaya said the council had also urged Rwanda to «proceed with the immediate withdrawal of its troops from Congolese soil under the cover of the M23 terrorist group.» The Congolese army reported last week that Rwanda had moved 500 soldiers into the country’s east, a claim that Kigali has denied. Since fighting intensified in recent weeks, the DRC has openly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels active in that area. Both countries have accused the other of cross-border rocket attacks, while the DRC stopped RwandAir flights to the country last month amid the rising tensions. However, thanks to the timely intervention of the African Union which mandated Angolan President to pursue mediation, both countries have opted for dialogue and cessation to escalating tension. Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo have agreed to a “de-escalation process” following one-day talks between their presidents, mediated by Angola, amid rising tensions over the activities of the M23 rebel group,...