ICSID Count Down vs Kobold, page-55

Kinshasa press review for Thursday, June 12, 2025.

This Thursday's Kinshasa press focuses on the peace agreement between Kinshasa and Kigali under the Washington administration.

Let's start with Infos 27, which reports that Rwanda, under international pressure, is clinging to an increasingly controversial security rhetoric, while the United States intends to make Kigali's troop withdrawal from eastern DRC a sine qua non for a peace agreement. According to a US diplomatic draft obtained by Reuters and authenticated by several UN sources, including within the Department of Peace Operations (DPO), Rwanda's military presence in the DRC now constitutes a "major obstacle to regional stability," the newspaper reveals. This view is shared by the UN Group of Experts on the DRC, whose damning reports accuse Kigali of actively supporting the M23 rebels. In this context, Infos 27 believes, the initiative led by the Trump administration, with the discreet support of the European Union and the Gulf States, aims to impose a military disengagement accompanied by international verification mechanisms.

According to sources, the newspaper notes, the condition imposed by Washington is sure to irritate Kigali, which considers armed groups based in Congo an existential threat. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is leading negotiations to end the fighting in eastern Congo and attract billions of dollars in Western investment to a region rich in minerals, including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, and lithium. The portal reports that this project goes beyond a declaration of principles signed by the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda at a ceremony in Washington last April, in the presence of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

On another topic, Le Phare reports that the U.S. ambassador confirmed the Trump administration's desire to focus on investment- and trade-driven growth in Africa. Speaking on the sidelines of Mining Week in Lubumbashi, the capital of Haut-Katanga province, the U.S. diplomat stated, and I quote: "We are moving toward an approach to Africa, moving from one primarily focused on development aid to one that prioritizes robust commercial engagement, recognizing and treating African countries as equal partners in trade and investment."

Forum des As, which maintains this position, notes that the U.S. ambassador emphasized dialogue with the government to improve the business climate, given the new paradigm. The newspaper also reports that the US diplomat deplored the difficulties faced by foreign companies that have chosen to invest in the DRC, citing tax harassment, fiscal instability, excessive VAT withholding, and many other issues. According to Forum des As, the United States wishes to encourage all stakeholders in the Great Lakes region to collaborate harmoniously and peacefully on projects that promote regional economic integration and the prosperity of economies on both sides of the border, particularly with regard to natural resource extraction and supply chains.