STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump gathered the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to sign a peace deal in Washington on Thursday (December 4) even as fighting continued in their war-scarred region.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi affirmed their commitment to an economic integration compact already agreed to last month, as well as a U.S.-brokered peace deal reached in June that has yet to be implemented.

Their countries are also signing agreements on critical minerals, security and economic partnerships, according to a White House official.

The signing handed Trump the latest in a series of made-for-television diplomatic victories, in this case one at odds with the bloody situation on the ground. Washington is keen to secure better access to a spectrum of natural resources in Congo and has been scrambling globally to counter Chinese dominance in critical minerals.

"They spent a lot of time killing each other and now they're going to spend a lot of time hugging, holding hands and taking advantage of the United States of America economically, like every other country does," Trump said.

Sitting before a "Delivering Peace" backdrop at a peace institute that the Trump administration unofficially renamed after Trump, the African leaders signed and exchanged documents with the U.S. president.

"Thank you for putting a certain name on that building," Trump told Secretary of State Marco Rubio, adding that it was a "great honor."

As the leaders signed the agreement, clashes between Rwanda-backedM23 rebels and the Congolese army were reported in several areas of South Kivu province. A spokesperson for M23 accused government troops of bombing several civilian areas.

The M23 rebel group, supported by Rwanda, seized the two largest cities in eastern Congo earlier this year in a lightning advance that raised fears of a wider war. Analysts say U.S. diplomacy has paused the escalation of fighting in eastern Congo but has failed to resolve core issues.

A White House official said the deal signing "recommits the parties to the peace process" and reflected "months of intensive diplomacy led by President Trump, who made it clear to both the DRC and Rwanda that the status quo was unacceptable."

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP PARTICIPATES IN THE SIGNING OF A PEACE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE LEADERS OF RWANDA AND THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AT THE U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE/ SOUNDBITES FROM TRUMP/

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 4, 2025)(UNRESTRICTED POOL – Access all)

1. U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, RWANDAN PRESIDENT PAUL KAGAME AND DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO PRESIDENT FELIX TSHISEKEDI ARRIVING FOR SIGNING CEREMONY

2. TRUMP SPEAKING AT LECTERN

3. (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

“For more than 30 years, one of the worst conflicts on Earth has been raging in eastern Congo. Millions and millions of people have been tragically killed. Went on forever and countless more have been displaced from their homes. Families have been destroyed. It's been a disaster. Many administrations have tried, but probably not to hard, knowing who preceded me. But they tried it. So they've tried. But we tried harder to end this conflict. But they've accomplished obviously, they accomplished very little because the killing went on at levels, it just got worse and worse.”

4. TRUMP SPEAKING

5. (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

“But in the region that will support a lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have agreed to more closely integrate their economies with each other rather than fighting. And they'll be doing that. And these two gentlemen are very smart and I think they liked each other a lot. I spent time with them. I think they, like, some people may be surprised. I really do. I think they spent a lot of time killing each other. And now they're going to spend a lot of time hugging, holding hands and taking advantage of the United States of America economically like every other country does. So they're going to do very well. But they do have some valuable, some very valuable things. They're going to have a lot of money and a lot of success. And I think they're going to get along really well.”

6. TRUMP SPEAKING

7. (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

“Today, the United States is also signing our own bilateral agreements with the Congo and Rwanda that will unlock new opportunities for the United States to access critical minerals and provide economic benefits for everybody. And we'll be involved with sending some of our biggest and greatest companies over to the two countries. And we're going to have take out some of the rare earth and take out some of the assets and pay and everybody's going to make a lot of money.”

8. TRUMP SPEAKING

9. (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

“A very special thanks as well to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Marco, please stand, thank you, and thank you for putting a certain name on that bill that came. I said, 'boy, that is beauty,' that blew up last night. They said, 'that's a great honor.' It really is. This building, it's a great honor. Thank you very much. I assume you had a lot to do with that, just a little bit. Thank you. Appreciate it.”

10. VARIOUS OF LEADERS SIGNING AGREEMENT

11. TRUMP SHOWING SIGNED AGREEMENT TO ATTENDEES

12. (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

REPORTER ASKING OFF CAMERA: “Thank you, Mr. President. We are witnessing a historic moment for Africa. My question to you is when we will see the withdrawal of Rwandese troops from DRC and when we will see the real peace because even now we are witnessing this historical peace deal. But people have been still killing in DRC because the troops continue there. When, because this peace to be real, the troop needs to withdraw from DRC. When we will see the withdrawal?''

TRUMP: “I think you’re going to see very quick and very quickly, I think you're going to see things happen. This is something that was not doable according to a lot of people. And not only is it doable, I think it's going to be a great miracle. These two gentlemen are leaders. They're great leaders, and they're going to prove that in the coming months and years. And I think you to see very immediate results. I have confidence that that's what's going to happen. Thank you very much, everybody.”

13. TRUMP AND AFRICAN LEADERS POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH